Tuesday, December 13, 2022, 19:22 An Arab driver who attacked a Jewish driver will stand trial, after the case was closed twice. At the Tel Aviv Magistrates Court, Tira resident Shadi Abed al-Hai (44) was indicted for attacking a Jewish driver on Route 4 in March 2022. He was indicted after Honenu filed two appeals with the office of the State Attorney against closing the case. The indictment attributes the criminal offenses of malicious damage to property and simple assault to al-Hai.
Documentation of the attack; Video courtesy of the videographer
After the indictment, Bleicher stated, “Israeli citizens are living under severe Islamic violence on all fronts. Over the past year and a half, Honenu has handled many incidents of Jewish drivers violently attacked throughout Israel. There is an urgent need to penalize all of the attackers to the full extent of the law. This violence is a national calamity that threatens the security of every Israeli citizen.”
The indictment, which was filed by the Claims Department of the Tel Aviv Police, states that the Jewish driver’s car was stopped in a traffic jam in Petah Tikva when al-Hai tried to forcibly enter his lane. The Jewish driver was forced to leave his lane to avoid an accident. When he called al-Hai’s attention to what he had done, al-Hai stopped his vehicle in the middle of the road and got out with his friends. They kicked the Jewish driver’s car and damaged it. The Jewish driver escaped, but al-Hai and his friends chased him in their vehicle. They caught up to the Jewish driver and punched him as they tried to open his car door and take him out. At some point, the Jewish driver fled the scene as al-Hai and his friends threw glass bottles at his car.
The case against al-Hai was closed twice, and each time Honenu Attorney Chayim Bleicher filed an appeal for the police to investigate the attack. In the second appeal, Bleicher wrote: “The conduct of the police in this case is enough to encourage additional violent acts by the same groups of Islamic terrorists, who take advantage of every opportunity for violent acts on Jews. This impression that has formed must be urgently corrected.” Bleicher concluded by demanding that the investigation be reopened.