Pregnant woman said assaulted on bus by religious man for wearing tank top, leggings

A pregnant woman was physically and verbally assaulted last week in a Haifa suburb by a religious Jewish man who called her a “whore” for wearing a tank top and tight leggings, according to a Monday report that cited testimony from the victim.

The woman, Tal Kostika, told Channel 12 that she was waiting at a bus stop in the town of Nesher last Wednesday when an older religious man approached her and yelled, “You whore, you’re going to die.”

“He threatened that I can’t get on the bus dressed like that,” she said. “Two people approached him and told him to stay away from me, but he continued.”

Kostika said that she called the police and took a picture of the man, though the bus arrived before police responded. She then got on the bus, and told the driver not to let the man on, fearing for her safety.

Despite the plea, the driver said that he would not prevent the man from boarding the bus, according to Kostika. “He told me that he wasn’t interested, and that he had to keep going,” she said.

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Shortly after they boarded the bus, the man assaulted Kostika, sharply pushing her against the door and elbowing her in the stomach, she said. He also continued to curse at her and spat at her, she added.

After the incident, Kostika was taken to a local hospital to make sure that her pregnancy was not harmed, and then filed a report with the police and a complaint to the Egged transit company, which operates the bus the alleged assault occurred on.

מחבקת את טל קוסטיקה.

ישראל תחזור להיות מדינה של משילות וביטחון.

ישראל תחזור להיות מדינה שבה כל אישה יכולה ללכת ברחוב בבטחה, בכל שעה, ללא פחד.

ישראל תחזור להיות מדינה שבה החוק נאכף, הפשיעה מטופלת, והביטחון האישי אינו מותרות אלא זכות בסיסית.

ישראל תחזור להיות מדינה שבה אין מקום… pic.twitter.com/cen3LZ4Ivl

— Orly Harel (@OrlyHar) July 6, 2026

“It will be scary to walk around now,” Kostika said, citing the fact that Nesher is a mixed town of both secular and religious residents. “I shouldn’t have to be afraid and think about what I’m wearing when I ride the bus.”

“If I’m not safe near my house then where will I be safe?” she asked.

“I’m still traumatized,” she said. “I’m trying to stay strong because I’m pregnant and have a small child at home, but it was really an assault.”

Ilanit Soibelman, a lawyer for the Israel Women’s Network legal group, said after the incident that it was part of a larger trend of “excluding women.”

“Tal was attacked in the stomach when she was pregnant and was blocked from getting on the bus just because she was wearing a tank top and leggings,” she said. “This is a serious attack and an attempt to exclude women from public spaces in a violent and illegal manner.”

Commenting on the incident, Egged said that it “regrets the difficult experience the passenger went through.” It disputed some of Kostika’s account, and said that its internal probe shows the assault took place “at the station, outside the bus, between the passenger and another person, and is therefore not Egged’s responsibility.”

The transit company added that it would cooperate with police in its investigation. The Israel Police said that the incident was still under investigation.