Please click here for a list of posts relating to cases in which Honenu provided legal counsel to victims of antisemitic attacks in Jerusalem and here for a list of posts relating to the May 2021 Arab rioting throughout Israel.
Sunday, July 31, 2022, 12:01 Honenu Attorney Chayim Bleicher sent a letter (see summary below) to the office of the State Attorney asking them to appeal the lenient prison sentences handed down to two of the Arab rioters, Rami Salah al-Din and Nawaf Abu al-Hawe, both adults, who attacked Avia and Shahar Anteman immediately after their engagement. Salah al-Din and Abu al-Hawe were convicted of aggravated assault in an act of terror, rioting, racially motivated malicious vehicular vandalism, and other charges. They were also convicted of attacks during the months preceding the attack on the Antemans, including arson, throwing Molotov cocktails, and assaulting security forces. Despite the serious charges, the Jerusalem District Court handed down lenient sentences of five and seven years’ imprisonment.
Avia proposed to Shahar in Beit HaHoshen, overlooking the Temple Mount, on the night of May 9, 2021. The couple announced their engagement to family and friends and then headed towards Beit Orot. On the way, their car was blocked by other cars, and at the A Tor Intersection dozens of Arab rioters threw rocks at them. Avia got out of the car and was beaten, pelted with rocks, and then stabbed in the back. Shahar escaped on foot and hid behind a parked car until the police arrived. The couple met up again in Beit Orot. Avia was evacuated, injured and bleeding, to the Sha’arei Tzedek Hospital. He suffered a head injury, stab wounds to his back, and a punctured lung. Due to prolonged hospitalization and outpatient treatments, the couple postponed their engagement party.
Summary of the letter:
Avia Anteman was kicked, punched, beaten with a police barrier, and stabbed as he was sprawled on the street for several minutes. The defendants also attacked security forces with Molotov cocktails on many occasions. In one of the incidents, Abu al-Hawe and several additional terrorists ambushed a police car. One of the terrorists threw a Molotov cocktail at the car, which went up in flames. When the policemen got out of the car, Abu al-Hawe and the others shot fireworks directly at them.
These are dangerous terrorists who attacked again and again in coordinated attacks, endangering the lives of civilians and security forces. We are of the opinion that the defendants should be treated as terrorists who took an active part in the war on the State of Israel and on Israeli citizens. One must not accept the lenient approach evident in the sentencing by the honorable court. Lenient penalization severely damages the deterrence factor and impedes the war on terror. The security considerations necessary to maintain the physical safety of Israeli citizens and to keep the fabric of life intact are of the utmost importance.
The crimes of which the two terrorists were convicted are punishable by up to 25 years’ imprisonment. It is not clear why the judicial system is settling for penalties of only a few years’ imprisonment, despite the high maximum penalty for the severity of the acts. Was it not for times like these that the counter-terror law was legislated? We ask the office of the State Attorney to work toward an appeal of the lenient sentencing and to demand stiffer penalization for terrorists.