Tuesday, July 26, 2022, 15:09 In a civil suit filed after the assailant was convicted in a criminal trial, the Jerusalem Magistrates Court obligated an Arab who attacked a Jewish driver in Ma’aleh Adumim to pay him 90,000 NIS in compensation. The assailant spit at, cursed, and punched the victim. The compensation includes the damages caused to the victim’s physical and emotional health and car. Additionally, the assailant must pay the victim’s attorney’s fees, 10,000 NIS. The assailant did not come to the hearings during the trial and did not file a statement of defense.
Honenu Attorney Ophir Steiner, who is representing the driver: “This was a serious attack on a Jew by an Arab. It is not rare for the demand for financial compensation to have more influence on the attacker and his surroundings than the criminal proceedings against him. We hope that the compensation awarded to the victim will assist with his physical and emotional rehabilitation. The incident has left marks on him to this day.”
The assailant, a minor, was convicted in a criminal trial of assault and battery, and malicious vehicular vandalism. He was handed down a six-month prison term and a suspended sentence, and required to pay 2,000 NIS in compensation.
The statement of claim, summarized below, describes the attack:
In the summer of 2021, the assailant, an Arab, and his friends disturbed the flow of traffic in Ma’aleh Adumim. A Jewish driver, the victim, asked them why they were disturbing traffic, and in response, the assailant cursed him, spit at him, and tried to open his car door.
The victim stopped and called the police as the assailant approached him, called out, “I’ll slaughter you,” and cursed him again. Then the assailant punched the victim in the face. The victim was forced to get out of his car. He was knocked to the ground and the assailant continued to punch him with the assistance of one of his friends. The assailant attempted to choke the victim, threw rocks at him, and damaged his car.
The attack stopped when policemen arrived and physically stopped the assailant. My client was caused pain and suffering during the violent incident he underwent. The assailant and his friends viciously beat the victim as he was sprawled on the floor. He suffered from pain in many parts of his body. Added to the pain were the fear and stress from the situation he was in: A group of people were surrounding him and repeatedly beating him. At the time, it was not clear to my client how long they were going to continue beating him and how seriously he would be injured. His car was also seriously damaged.