The victim; Photo courtesy of the photographer
Wednesday, July 26, 2023, 10:14 In mid-July, a group of yeshiva students vacationing together at the “Kfar Blum Kayaks” vacation site in northern Israel was assaulted by a group of Arabs. As the group paddled their raft, several meters ahead of them a group of approximately eight Arabs were paddling their own raft. At some point, the Arabs splashed water on the group of yeshiva students, who tried to ignore them and continue paddling. The Arabs approached the students and snatched their oars.
The students, who could not continue rafting without oars, got out of the water and asked the Arabs to return their oars and leave them alone. The Arabs then took advantage of their physical proximity, beat the students, and made racial slurs. One student turned around and returned to the raft. Then, one of the Arabs rushed over to him, blocked his path, and punched him hard in the face. His lip was deeply cut and one of his teeth was broken.
The victim hurried to the river bank as his face was bleeding. Police officers who were summoned to the site took testimonies and detained two of the violent Arabs. The victim was transported to the hospital where his cut lip was stitched and he was referred to a dentist for rehabilitative treatment. Two days later, the victim arrived at the police station to file a complaint against his attackers. Much to his surprise, he found himself interrogated under warning, despite testimony by him and his friends that he had not committed any violent act.
Honenu Attorney Ophir Steiner, who is representing the victim, wrote in a letter to the police, “This was a racially motivated attack, and the assailants must be penalized to the full extent of the law.” Attorney Steiner also requested information regarding the suspects: “Unfortunately, we hear about Jewish youths being attacked at kayaking sites in northern Israel with increasing frequency. In this case, the attack was especially violent, carried out by several Arab assailants and following prolonged antagonism by the Arabs. In the end, a yeshiva student, who only wanted to vacation peacefully, was seriously injured. We will make sure that the assailants are penalized to the full extent of the law.”
For a similar incident at “Jordan River Rafting” in April 2023, click here: Honenu to police: Terror attack, not accident