Bombed out Jerusalem bus tours the nation

Almost a year after a suicide bomber boarded a crowded bus in Jerusalem and detonated a bomb killing 11 people and injuring 50, including children and the bus driver, the wreckage has been visited by people all over the nation.

They did not have to travel to a museum in Israel; the terrorized, charred bus came to them.

“It’s horrible,” said Robert Gyori, after touring the remnants of the bus, which was available for viewing at the Ronald Reagan Sports Park. “It makes me sick. There is no ideology that is right which tolerates this type of behavior.”

Bus 19 was the 140th target of a homicide bombing in Jerusalem, bringing the total to 577 lives lost and 3,543 people injured through terrorism.

Called a “moving tomb,” Bus 19 has toured the nation for the past year reminding Americans of the threat Jews live with each day in their country.

On Jan. 29, 2004 the bus was boarded by a suicide bomber, who detonated the device around 8 a.m.

“This is important because it’s a message to the world that this could happen ianywhere in the world,” said Jim Hutchens, president of Christians for Israel and editor of The Jerusalem Connection magazine, which spearheaded the tour. “Terrorism excludes no one. The bus is a vivid reminder … that Islamic jihadists would like to do the same thing again to us here in the USA.”

Thousands across the nation have visited the touring bus, which is carried on a truck bed from city to city sponsored by local churches and organizations.

“It’s a sick world we live in,” Mark Lemoge, a U.S. Marine from Murrieta, Calif. said after inspecting the bus remains. “We (Marines) see this stuff every day, but now other people get to see it.”

Gyori’s wife, Maria, softly told how she felt looking into the bus.

“I’m heartbroken,” said Maria Gyori, a native of Hungary. “I don’t wish this on anyone. I can imagine what they feel like because I lived through the tyranny in Hungary. Just thinking of the people on the bus breaks my heart.”

A way of life
It was something most people in America cannot even imagine, according to Johanna Kashi, who lived in Israel for 10 years.

“It’s definitely important to show this here because you can’t even imagine it unless you see it for yourself,” said Kashi, who rode the buses frequently in Israel. “It’s just a part of life for the Israeli people. You don’t feel the stress until you leave it. I used to put my kids on the buses all the time.”

Kashi said she remembers living with a machine gun under her bed.

“I would have to go to the shooting range every month to practice,” said Kashi, who married a native of Israel. “It was just the way we lived. It’s beyond emotion seeing it all again.”

Kashi’s husband, Israeh agreed.

“When you’re raised in that environment you don’t think about it,” said Israeh, who left Israel in 1982 for a better life in America. “This is a reminder that we need to solve this conflict. It’s good for others to be aware of what is happening in other countries.”

Children from a nearby park wandered over to see the exhibit.

“I don’t know what we did to them,” said 11-year-old Nick Fox, looking at the bus and the large pictures of each victim in front of it with a small votive candle. “It’s sad. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Display prompts protest
Hutchins expects some controversy at each location the bus stops.

“We usually get some opposition,” said Hutchins, a former chaplain in the U.S. military, who is based in Washington D.C. “We always have a police presence and alert the authorities of our plans. We try to take necessary precautions.”

Shimon Erem, president of Israel Christian Nexus in West Hollywood, one of the sponsors of the event, felt it was necessary.

“It’s overwhelming to see,” said Erem, who encouraged Hutchins that he was doing a good job. “This is the real McCoy. It’s not a matter of “if” this will happen in our country, but “when.”

Hutchins said he felt called to this tour after being contacted by ZAKA, a Jewish organization in Israel whose volunteers are first on the scene of most terrorist attacks. The organization named ZAKA, Hebrew for Zinui Korbanot Ason, means Identification of Disaster Victims. ZAKA volunteers, who are trained paramedics, are first on the scene to rescue and treat survivors and then later acquire the buses to be cleaned of any leftover human remains that will be buried with the deceased, according to Jewish custom.

ZAKA officials contacted Hutchins to see if he would like to buy the bus for $10 last January.

“I thought it was terrific,” said Hutchins, an American who has tried relentlessly to become an Israeli citizen because of his love for the Jewish people. “It was a sense of a calling for me. It’s an opportunity for people to pray for the peace in Israel.”

The bus had to be split in half and then was shipped from Amsterdam to the Baltimore Harbor last February.

On May 6, Bus 19 made its first appearance in the United States at the annual Day of Prayer in Washington D.C.

Since then, the bus has traveled across the nation.

“We have plans for March and April and as long as we have an interest we will continue touring,” Hutchins said.

For more information on booking Bus 19, visit Bus19.org or call 1-877-200-7249.

Published by Keener Communications Group, March 2005

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