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 Attorney Chayim Bleicher; Photo credit: Honenu
Wednesday, August 7, 2024, 10:46 Two weeks ago, Arab youths attacked two Jewish youths with rocks and pepper spray in the French Hill neighborhood of Jerusalem. After the attack, the assailants escaped to the adjacent Isawiya neighborhood. Honenu Attorney Chayim Bleicher wrote a letter to the police demanding that they locate and put the assailants on trial.
In his letter, Attorney Bleicher described the attack: “My client and his friend were returning home from synagogue when at some point they noticed four Arab youths about 16 years of age, one of whom was known to my client from the neighborhood. The Arab youths approached the Jewish youths and asked them for the time and they answered. After that, the Arab youths asked them, ‘How old are you?’ They replied ‘15’. Then one of the assailants took out pepper spray and without any provocation sprayed the Jewish youths in their eyes and face at point-blank range. Afterward, another assailant picked up a large rock and hurled it at them. Fortunately, the rock hit a nearby car and did not cause them bodily injury. The assailants hurriedly escaped to the adjacent Isawiya neighborhood.”
Attorney Bleicher demanded that the police locate the assailants and put them on trial: “According to the legal definition, this was aggravated assault, as the attackers acted in unison, motivated by racism. My clients were caused great pain and suffering by the pepper spray, in addition to the emotional damage and trauma caused by the serious attack According to the parents’ testimonies, the victims are now afraid to go out on the street and meet their assailants again. I demand that investigations be carried out to locate the assailants, including gathering evidence from security cameras at the scene and the escape route, and other intelligence gathering methods likely to lead to their arrest. I demand that all of the Arab youths who were at the scene and involved in the assault be arrested, investigated, and indicted for racially motivated aggravated assault.”
Honenu Attorney Chayim Bleicher commented on the case: “Islamic terror, including spontaneous acts of terror by thugs waiting for an opportunity to injure Jews, must be eradicated. Every incident of this type must be treated as a terror attack. All means must be used to locate assailants and punish them with long prison sentences. If we do not act decisively, tomorrow or the next day the same assailants or their friends will again attempt to assault or murder Jews who happen to cross their path.”