40,000 NIS awarded in civil suit

Monday, December 23, 2019, 10:47 The Jerusalem Magistrates Court ruled that one of the assailants of two hareidi brothers in the City of David neighborhood of Jerusalem will compensate them with 40,000 NIS in a compromise agreement between the two sides in a civil suit which the brothers filed. It was a severe assault in which the brothers suffered not only physical injury, but also emotional and religiously motivated abuse.
The assault occurred in early 2018, on a Shabbat morning, near the City of David neighborhood of Jerusalem when the two young brothers were walking to Ma’ayan HaShiloah (The Pool of Siloam). As they walked down to the site, they encountered two Arab youths who started to beat them. The brothers escaped, hid and then continued to Ma’ayan HaShiloah.
On their return they again encountered the two Arab youths, who blocked their way. One of the youths took the brothers’ payot and tied them to each other as the other filmed the abuse on his cellphone. They also beat the brothers as they forced them to repeat statements denigrating Israel and praising Hamas. The youths also forced the brothers to say the “Shahada”, the prayer from the Islamic conversion ceremony. Then they bent the brothers’ heads down and forced them to kiss their hands as they kicked them. At some point during the assault the brothers succeeded in fleeing the scene.
The following day the brothers filed a complaint with the Jerusalem Police and positively identified the two Arab assailants. However only one of them was convicted. The office of the Attorney General claimed that the identification of the other assailant has been contaminated. After the conviction of the first suspect, Honenu Attorney Chayim Bleicher, who is representing the brothers, received the evidence in the case. Bleicher was convinced that there was sufficient evidence to convict the second suspect and therefore filed an appeal. Currently, the appeal has been rejected on formal grounds. In the meantime the brothers filed a civil suit against the assailant who was not convicted, who has been ordered to pay 40,000 NIS compensation.
The convicted assailant was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment. Subsequent to the criminal conviction, the brothers filed a civil suit against him. Deliberations in the case will commence shortly.
Honenu Attorney Chayim Bleicher, who is representing the brothers, stated: “Considering the circumstances, the ruling is an important achievement in that the suspect did not escape paying a price for his contemptible actions. In light of the severity of the incident, and the evidence amassed in the case, we will proceed, despite the length of time that has passed and despite the ruling achieved in the civil suit, so that the suspect will be tried in a criminal case. We intend to start proceedings in the High Court of Justice shortly. Honenu will spare no effort with the tools available to us in the civilian war on anti-Semitic terror in Israel.”