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
Thursday, April 18, 2024, 7:58 Honenu Attorney Chayim Bleicher appealed to the State Attorney’s Office requesting that an assault case be reopened. In May 2023, an Arab woman assaulted a ten-year-old Jewish boy as he was walking in the Old City of Jerusalem. She suddenly jumped in front of him, beat him, and pulled one of his side curls. The boy’s family filed a complaint with the police, and the assailant was detained and interrogated. However, despite video evidence from police security cameras, the case was closed on the grounds that it was not suitable for criminal proceedings.
In the appeal, Attorney Bleicher describes the assault: “On May 20, 2023, my client returned from the Western Wall to his home on HaGai Street [in a group] with a guarded escort. At some point, he happened to meet his father, stopped for a moment to speak with him, and then hurried to return to the group that had continued on their way. During that time, an Arab woman noticed that he was alone and decided to harass him. Her motive was antisemitic. She approached and startled him while violating his personal space. The frightened boy asked her to back off and leave him alone. In response, she pulled one of his side curls and beat him in his face and body. The terrified boy shouted, ‘Help!,’ to the escort, but they could not hear him. Fortunately, two Jewish youths passed the site, and he turned to them for assistance. The assailant stopped and walked away.”
Attorney Bleicher continued: “The case closing is a scandal. Motivated by antisemitism, an adult Arab woman severely assaulted a boy, humiliated him, and pulled one of his side curls. This is an extremely serious criminal act of terror. Closing the case against the assailant greatly harms the boy and his family – and is also very much against the public interest. It is of the utmost importance to set appropriate penalties for and create deterrence against acts of this sort. I request that an investigative case be opened and the assailant be brought to trial for aggravated assault on a helpless victim in an act of terror.”
Honenu Attorney Chayim Bleicher commented on the case: “This was a shocking antisemitic assault on a ten-year-old boy. The indifference of the police to an incident of this gravity, which is expressed by closing the case, is leading us to the edge of an abyss. We hope that the law enforcement authorities will come to their senses and do their jobs in the constant war on terror on the streets of Jerusalem.”