Honenu Attorney Chayim Bleicher; Photo credit: Honenu
Wednesday, February 17, 2021, 11:21 An Arab who was detained on suspicion of assaulting a Jewish youth for no reason on Silwan Street in Jerusalem during the week of Sunday, February 7, has been released to house arrest. The Jerusalem District Attorney’s office intends to indict the suspect within the next few days.
The complainant stated that the assailant hit him in the head, kicked him, cursed him and threw him onto a car. A local Arab resident passing by the scene intervened and prevented the suspect from continuing the attack.
When Honenu Attorney Chayim Bleicher, who is assisting the victim, found out that the suspect had been detained, he demanded that the Shalem Police Station have the suspect stand trial. In his letter, Bleicher described the incident: “My client was severely assaulted in an antisemitic attack as he was returning with a friend from immersing in Ma’ayan HaShiloah (The Pool of Siloam). My client and his friend are yeshiva students who have a traditional hassidic appearance.
“As my client and his friend walked up Silwan Street in the City of David, they noticed a group of Arabs looking at them. My client and his friend continued walking. Then one of the group approached my client and for no reason hit his head and tried to knock off his hat as he insulted and cursed him with vulgar curses.”
The complainant asked the assailant not to touch him, and then the assailant punched and kicked him. When the complainant called out to his friend to call the police, the assailant responded by grabbing him and throwing him onto a car as he punched him many times and yelled at him not to dare call the police.
The incident ended with the intervention of a passer-by. “My client was saved from the attack thanks to an elderly Arab who intervened and prevented the suspect from continuing to beat him.”
The letter mentioned that the victim filed a complaint with the police and was informed that a suspect had been detained on suspicion of assault. In light of the detention, Bleicher wrote “I demand that everything possible be done so that the suspect will stand trial for racially motivated assault before the police are forced to release the dangerous suspect.”
After the suspect was released to house arrest, Bleicher wrote a letter to the Jerusalem District Attorney’s office requesting updates concerning the progress of the court case and of the indictment.
Honenu Attorney Chayim Bleicher: “Unfortunately we have experienced another antisemitic attack in Jerusalem. We demand that the assailant be prosecuted to the full extent of the law in order to create a deterrence factor and to eradicate these serious and dangerous incidents. We are pleased that the Jerusalem Police and the Jerusalem District Attorney’s office acted quickly to bring the assailant to trial and we hope that the indictment will deter antisemitic violence.”
Similar attacks occurred at Ma’ayan HaShiloah in the summer of 2019 and in early 2018.