Moti Cohen, a veteran bus inspector of 31 years, was attacked on Wednesday in the central city of Holon by a teenager who refused to pay for the fare, leaving the 67-year-old with a gushing head wound.
"I went on shift with a trainee and got on the bus where there was a group of teens who didn't pay for the ride," Cohen told Ynet. "An argument ensued and we called the police. One of the kids tried to run and clobbered me on the head with his phone. I was shocked. I fell down and noticed blood running down my head."
Cohen, who was taken to the hospital to get stitched and bandaged, said this wasn't the first he's been assaulted.
"I can't see myself going back to work, at least not for a while. This is a violent generation that is unruly and does unacceptable things," said the Egged employee, Israel's largest transit bus company.
"It's humiliating. I was in the army and served in the first Lebanon War, but I've never experienced something like this."
Nir Landau, manager of Egged’s procurement division, told Ynet the government must act to uproot the ongoing wave of violence against public servants.
"Inspectors should be commended for their work, especially in light of the growing scourge of violence that they are forced to contend with in alarming frequency," he said.
"This is an unbearable situation and the police should create deterrence and severely punish those who act with indiscriminate violence against public servants of all stripes. We're currently training more than 100 new inspectors to combat the trend of passengers looking for free rides."