Please click here for a list of posts relating to cases in which Honenu provided legal counsel to victims of antisemitic attacks in Jerusalem.
Honenu Atty. Chayim Bleicher; Photo credit: Honenu
Sunday, September 3, 2023, 10:05 Honenu Attorney Chayim Bleicher, asked the police to reopen an investigation of an attack on a Jewish woman by an Arab man at the New Gate in Jerusalem. She filed a complaint with the police about the attack, but the police closed the case one week later. No suspects were detained.
Attorney Bleicher described the attack in his letter: “On August 22, 2023, my client, a Jewish resident of the Old City, was assaulted by a nationalistically motivated Arab near the New Gate in Jerusalem. She was standing at the New Gate exit and looking at an artistic display that the municipality had set up at the site. As she was recording a video for her family, a 30-year-old Arab suddenly came up behind her and hit her hard in the shoulder. Before she could react, he hit her a second time. My client turned around and shouted at the assailant, then he hit her again, turned around, and fled down the road toward the Sha’ar Shechem (Damascus Gate) Plaza.”
In his letter. Attorney Bleicher wrote that despite the complaint, the police closed the case after only one week. “My client immediately phoned the police and reported the assault. Later, she noticed a police car, told the officers about the assault, and was directed to file a complaint. Later that night, my client filed a complaint with the police. She provided the exact time and location of the assault and asked the police to check the security cameras to find and arrest the suspect. According to the crime victim notification system, no suspect was detained during the days following the assault. To her shock, my client was informed that the case was closed because of insufficient evidence to file a charge.” In conclusion, Attorney Bleicher demanded that the police arrest the assailant and put him on trial.
Honenu Attorney Chayim Bleicher said, “Police should take immediate action when a woman is violently attacked, especially if the motive is terror. The failure of the police to do their job because of a claim of lack of criminal guilt is incomprehensible. This failure must be immediately rectified, and the terrorist must be prosecuted before he can harm additional victims, perhaps even more seriously.”