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 Bleicher; Photo credit: Honenu
Thursday, August 14, 2025, 9:05 Last Friday night (Shabbat), an Arab attacked two Jews in Jerusalem. They required medical treatment and were transported to the hospital. Honenu Attorney Chayim Bleicher wrote a letter to the Jerusalem District Commander describing the unfolding of events and calling on him to put the assailant on trial:
“My clients were in the area of Zion Square when they encountered an Arab man who harassed them and threatened to murder them that very day because of their payot and kippot. He shouted at them that he ‘hates Jews and wants to be a shahid (martyr).’ Additional eyewitnesses saw and heard the incident. My clients attempted to distance themselves from the suspect as he continued to threaten to murder them. They reported the threats to a Yasam (Special Forces) team that was in the area and gave them a description of the suspect. The officers located the suspect but detained him for only a few minutes. They released him even though several people told the police that he had threatened to commit murder and intended to be a terrorist shahid.”
The letter continues: “Unfortunately, within a short time, as my clients were walking toward the light rail tracks at the entrance to the city, the suspect found them. He jumped on them, shouting that he would murder them, and that he was a terrorist shahid. The suspect viciously attacked my clients, pulled their payot, knocked them to the ground, and repeatedly punched and kicked them. My clients called out, ‘Terrorist!’, and the suspect fled. Police officers who arrived on the scene apprehended the suspect. Later, my clients filed a complaint at the Lev HaBira Police Station. The suspect continued to threaten my clients at the station, and in the presence of the officers said aloud, ‘I am a terrorist, and in two years, I’ll be released, and I’ll kill you (my clients).’ After the attack, my clients were dizzy and felt pain all over their bodies, so they went to the emergency room at Hadassah Ein Kerem [Hospital].”
In conclusion, Attorney Bleicher wrote, “This brutal attack was clearly motivated by terror, racism, and nationalism. Under these circumstances, it is of the utmost importance to quickly and decisively prosecute the suspect. I demand the remand of the terrorist until the end of proceedings. Evidence must be gathered, with emphasis on the security cameras positioned at the sites of the attacks. The case must be transferred to the State Attorney’s office. The assailant must be put on trial for racially motivated aggravated assault and racially motivated aggravated assault causing actual injury.”
Attorney Bleicher issued a statement: “While the terrorist attacked, he announced his desire to murder Jews as a shahid. We must not allow terrorists to wander freely and search for ways to carry out their nefarious intentions to become a shahid. I hope that the Israel Police, the State Attorney’s office, and the courts will do everything possible to protect the security of Israeli citizens, and ensure that terrorists such as this attacker never achieve their despicable goals.”