Photograph courtesy of the victim
Please click here for a list of posts relating to cases in which Honenu provided legal counsel to victims of antisemitic attacks in Jerusalem.
Monday, August 2, 2021, 8:51 Two Arab youths brutally attacked two hareidi Jews, both residents of Jerusalem, as they walked from the Western Wall to the City of David. Although the assailants left their car, and a cell phone in it, at the scene, and later came to the police station to retrieve the phone, the case was closed due to “lack of evidence”. Also M., one of the victims, said that there were many witnesses to the attack. Following an appeal filed by Honenu Attorney Chayim Bleicher, the case was reopened and transferred to the Jerusalem District Attorney.
The incident occurred when M. and a friend were on their way to the Dung Gate. M. described the attack: “We left the Western Wall in the direction of the City of David, and suddenly a car with Arab passengers stopped next to us. They started to curse and tried to start a fight. We didn’t pay any attention to them and continued walking. But they got out of their car and attacked us. The guy who had been sitting next to the driver punched me in the face and at the same time the driver hit my friend.
“We yelled and then passers-by gathered around us, which caused the attackers to leave us and get back into their car. I managed to keep my wits about me and took out my cell phone so that I could photograph the attackers. Then the two attackers got out of their car again and started to run after us.”
M. said that when the police arrived, the assailants fled. “They left their car at the scene, with one of their cell phones inside.” At the recommendation of the policemen, M. and his friend filed a complaint at the Shalem Police Station.
After the attack, the suspected assailants came to the police station to pick up the cell phone that they had left at the scene. They were detained and taken in for interrogation, but released after a short time. Neither their car nor the cell phone that they had left at the scene were examined as evidence.
M. and his friend, who still suffer from difficulties and intense pain from the attack, were shocked to discover that the case had been closed due to “lack of evidence” several days after the attack. Following the closing of the case, Honenu Attorney Chayim Bleicher, who is assisting M. and his friend as victims of terror, wrote a letter to the police demanding that they reopen the case and prosecute the assailants to the full extent of the law.
“My client and his friend are still bruised and injured from the attack. They have been waiting impatiently to hear that the investigation is progressing and that the apprehended suspects have been indicted. However, to my clients’ great disappointment, the opposite has occurred. My clients received a notice that the case has been closed and the detainees have been released.
“This is a serious assault case which occurred in a place photographed from all angles. Additionally, the car itself was in the hands of the police. It is not clear why it, and also one of the suspect’s cell phone that had been left at the site, were not examined in the investigation. Moreover, the suspects themselves came of their own accord and turned themselves in at the police station! It is beyond my understanding how despite all of the many investigative leads the case was closed and the dangerous assailants released from remand.
“I would like to appeal the closing of the case. The case should be reopened, the terrorists should be detained again, until the end of proceedings, and they should be indicted for racially motivated assault.”
The case was reopened and transferred to the Jerusalem District Attorney.