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 Chayim Bleicher; Photo credit: Honenu
Wednesday, March 27, 2024, 13:59 In August 2020, Arabs in the Old City of Jerusalem clashed with a group of Jews walking through the site. One of the Arabs threw a glass bottle that hit and injured one of the Jews in the head. After the attack, the victim filed a complaint with the police. However, the State Attorney’s office closed the case. Honenu Attorney Chayim Bleicher fought a legal battle on behalf of the victim that led to the reopening the case and the conviction of the assailant. The Jerusalem Magistrates Court sentenced the assailant in a plea bargain to two months’ imprisonment that was commuted to community service and also awarded the victim NIS 3,000 in compensation.
The statement of claim describes the incident: “On August 12, 2020, the complainant was walking on Via Dolorosa in the Old City of Jerusalem toward HaGai Street with [a group of Jews]. At some point, an argument broke out between the group of which the complainant was a part and [Arabs] at the site. In the course of the argument, after words were exchanged, the members of the [group of Jews] and the [Arabs] at the site shoved each other. At this time, the [Arab] defendant passed the site with his son, approached one of the members of the group, and grabbed his shirt. At this stage, the defendant lifted a chair with the aim of throwing it at the group. A short time afterward, when the group was leaving the site, the defendant threw a glass bottle at the complainant, which hit his head, causing a three-centimeter cut in his scalp that required stitches and bandaging at the hospital.”
Honenu Attorney Chayim Bleicher welcomed the sentencing and said, “Riotous behavior and attacks on Jews must not be accepted. It would have been correct to penalize the assailant to the full extant of the law and sentence him to several years’ imprisonment. In any event, in light of the fact that the case was initially closed, we are pleased with the conviction and penalization of the assailant. We intend to also sue the assailant in civil proceedings and do everything we can to create deterrence against criminals who would consider attacking Jews.”