Bar mitzva hike case closed

Monday, March 26, 2018, 15:57 Honenu is pleased to announce that the case against the fathers who were detained after defending a group of bar mitzva boys ambushed by an Arab mob on a November 30, 2017 hiking trip near Migdalim in the Shomron has been closed due to lack of guilt. Honenu strongly criticized the investigation of the fathers, who risked their lives to protect the boys: “From the very start it was obvious that a barbaric mob had attacked a group of hikers, whose only fault was that they were Jews who had gone out on a bar mitzva hike in the Land of Israel.
“We are pleased that at least now the case has been closed, and we regret the injustice the fathers suffered until now. Immediately after their release from the hospital they were taken to the police station for interrogation, and instead of receiving a commendation, they were considered suspects. The police insulted heroic men who, as citizens, performed a courageous act and protected the boys with their bodies. In fact, they did the job of the police and the army. The conduct of the police and the message it sends is dangerous, and harms the security of the citizens of Israel, and that is unfortunate.”
Despite the documentation of the incident and the fact that the identity of most of the rioters is known, many of them still have not been detained. Honenu called for their detention: “Dozens, if not hundreds of rioters participated in the barbaric ambush. Unfortunately despite the fact that the identity of most of them is known, very few of them have been served with an indictment. Not many suspects have been detained either, and therefore dozens of ruthless rioters are wandering freely. We call on the authorities to immediately detain the rioters, penalize them to the full extent of the law and to devote the investigative resources to the correct suspects.”
Honenu Attorney Adi Keidar added: “We welcome the announcement from the Attorney General’s office. However we are still of the opinion that the law enforcement authorities should be strongly criticized for wasting valuable time interrogating two Jews who risked their lives protecting children, instead of detaining terrorists. This later caused a faulty investigation which led to the release of terrorists. It is inconceivable that after so many years the selective enforcement against Jews will continue. The phenomenon must be immediately eradicated.”