R. Glick; Photo credit: Tomer Neuberg/Flash90
Monday, November 30, 2020, 13:14 On Sunday, November 29, at the Jerusalem Magistrates Court, former Knesset Member Rabbi Yehuda Glick filed a 300,000 NIS suit against an East Jerusalem resident who attacked him when he came to console the bereaved family of Iyad al-Hallak in the Wadi Joz neighborhood of Jerusalem on June 4. Approximately four months ago, the assailant was convicted of assault and causing actual damage. He was sentenced to a five-month active prison sentence.
The statement of claim states that the defendant was convicted of a criminal offense according to his confession, and from the bill of indictment it appears that the defendant acted out of racist motivation, but for various reasons was not accused of such motivation. The statement of claim concludes: “For the needs of the suit the non-financial damages should be evaluated at approximately 250,000 NIS. Additionally, the appellant will request that payment of 50,000 NIS in punitive compensation be imposed due to the racially motivated, evil and cruel manner, in which the assault was carried out.”
The bill of indictment, which was filed approximately five months ago, describes the attack: Rabbi Glick arrived at the mourners’ house, the defendant grabbed him and removed him by force from the house and then “[The defendant and others] threw the complainant to the ground and rolled him down the approximately twenty-five steps of the entry staircase to the mourners’ house. The complainant, who was sprawled on the ground, attempted to get up. However the defendant and others in the group beat him and kicked him in the head and the rest of his body.”
When Rabbi Glick got up and continued to walk down the street, the defendant and the rest of the group followed him and “near the fire station they again beat the complainant in the head and the rest of his body, kicked him, and knocked him to the ground again. As the complainant was sprawled on the ground, they continued to kick him hard in his head and the rest of his body.”
Additionally, the bill of indictment mentions that during the incident the defendant incited the others in the group to attack and injure the complainant. Also, during the assault, various members of the group called out that the complainant is a Jew, that he “storms Al-Aqsa”, that he “beats women”, and that he “turns youths into the police”.
Rabbi Glick: “The incident was very traumatic and physically extremely painful. I was astounded that the State [of Israel] did not regard it a nationalistically motivated incident, despite the calls that were nationalistic. It was obvious to everyone that they did not beat me for no reason. The suit was not filed out of a desire for money on my part, but rather as part of my struggle against violence in general society and against public figures in particular. I hope that we will create a deterrence factor and attain a situation in which there will be no violence in the streets of Israel and especially no nationalistically motivated violence. I thank Honenu for their advice and their assistance in this case.”
Honenu Attorney Chayim Bleicher, who is representing the complainant: “Rabbi Yehuda Glick was assaulted by merciless criminals because he is a Jew. The assailants rolled Yehuda down twenty-five stairs and beat him all over his body, even though they knew his medical history and knew that he survived a near-fatal assassination attempt. Unfortunately, the prosecution negligently did not charge the defendant with a nationalistic motive and also rushed to close the case in a ridiculous plea bargain with a five-month prison sentence, without notifying the victim. We hope that now justice will be served by the civil suit which we filed.”