Please click here for a list of posts relating to cases in which Honenu provided legal counsel to victims of antisemitic attacks in Jerusalem.
Monday, September 12, 2022, 16:20 Tomorrow (Tuesday), the Jerusalem District Court is scheduled to sentence two terrorists who carried out a car-ramming attack near Sha’ar Yafo (Jaffa Gate) in Jerusalem more than three years ago. Avraham Arend, one of the two Hareidi youths injured in the attack, will be present at the hearing accompanied by Honenu Attorney Chayim Bleicher. The police initially reported the incident as a traffic accident. Honenu insisted that it was a car-ramming attack, drawing criticism from the police, who claimed that the organization had not accurately assessed the incident. After a GSS investigation, the police recognized the car-ramming as an attack.
The attack occurred on March 26, 2019. Two yeshiva students stood on the sidewalk, near Sha’ar Yafo, waiting for the red light to change, when suddenly a car driven by an Arab driver jumped the curb onto the sidewalk and hit them. One of the injured students testified that the driver backed up and tried to run them over again. When he did not succeed, the two terrorists exited the car, and when the injured victims were on the ground, hit and kicked them. Then the terrorists got into their car and fled. A knife was found at the scene, and later it turned out that the terrorists had tried to stab one of the victims, but failed.
The terrorists were detained after a search of the area, but the police released them several hours after the attack, favoring their testimony over that of the victims and other eyewitnesses. District officials defended the decision by the police and ignored repeated requests from Honenu for a thorough investigation into the attack. The police also erroneously announced that the incident had been a hit-and-run accident.
Approximately six months after the incident, the GSS received information that led to a renewed investigation of the attack, and Honenu’s claims were confirmed. Several months later, the GSS announced that they had determined what had happened, and the suspects were detained until the end of the proceedings against them. Then the police recognized the car-ramming as an attack. Both terrorists were indicted in January 2020 and convicted of attempted murder in an act of terror in May 2022.