A deeply troubling antisemitic incident unfolded on a Brooklyn school bus when a driver veered off route and subjected children to religious proselytizing that included the false claim that Jews killed Jesus, leaving one Jewish student in tears and prompting his immediate suspension from the school transportation company.
The New York Post reported Monday that the bus driver stopped his vehicle along the roadside while transporting students to Prospect International Elementary School in Brooklyn and launched into a speech about his religious beliefs to a group of students, some of whom were Jewish. The driver told the children that only Jesus could save them, not religion itself, according to a parent who spoke to the newspaper.
When one student asked whether Jesus was Jewish, the driver made antisemitic statements about Jewish responsibility for Jesus' death. "Yes, he was Jewish and actually Jews – his own people – killed him," the driver said, according to the parent's account.
NYC bus driver allegedly held students captive on way to school and claimed Jews killed Jesus in antisemitic rant https://t.co/7SakCFIbA8 pic.twitter.com/NvuIlEw6WG
— New York Post (@nypost) May 26, 2025
Some students sent real-time text messages to their parents about the incident, and one Jewish student broke down crying during the driver's speech, the parent claimed. At one point, the driver asked the students to pray while distributing white hats bearing the message "I am with you always" with a black cross engraved between the words.
"What upset me was that the children were late to school," one parent said. "The driver definitely held the children hostage. The Jewish parents were certainly the most upset."
The driver has been suspended pending investigation of the incident, though school officials have not provided additional details about disciplinary measures or whether criminal charges might be filed.
