Jewish boys attacked at Tomb of Shimon HaTzadik

Injured boy; Photo credit: Courtesy of the photographer

Please see here 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 recent Arab rioting throughout Israel.
Tuesday, June 1, 2021, 9:03 Three Jewish boys were attacked by dozens of Arab rioters near the Tomb of Shimon HaTzadik in Jerusalem when they returned from a prayer meeting held at the site during Operation Guardian of the Walls. The rioters blocked their path, sprayed them with pepper spray, beat them and stole their bicycles. One of the boys, who is being represented by Honenu Attorney Chayim Bleicher, filed a complaint, but the police closed the case. Bleicher sent a letter to the Shalem Police Station describing the attack and requesting information for the purpose of appealing the closing of the case.
The content of the letter is as follows: Out of the group of rioters, some attacked the boys “knocking them off of their bicycles, spraying entire canisters of pepper spray on them, kicking them and punching them as they tried to escape and were rolling on the ground.” The boys escaped towards a nearby police post and their bicycles were stolen. One of the boys, a 15-year-old, was evacuated by ambulance to the Hadassah Mt. Scopus Hospital.
After he recuperated from the trauma, the injured boy filed a complaint at the police station. However “to his great surprise, the following morning he received an update from the crime victim notification system stating that the case had been closed because ‘No evidence was found on which criminal culpability can be based.’
“This was a vicious attack on three young defenseless boys in which dozens of people took part. It would have been appropriate for the Israeli Police to invest the necessary resources and effort to detain and bring to trial at least some of the assailants and to serve as a source of support and defense for youths. Closing the case in under 24 hours sends a message of disrespect to victims and their claims, and indicates a lack of genuine effort to thoroughly investigate the incident.”
In conclusion, Bleicher requested the investigative material in the case in order to appraise the investigatory actions that were carried out, “if there were any,” and to examine the possibility of appealing the closing of the case.
Honenu Attorney Chayim Bleicher, who is representing the boy: “My client and his friends experienced a shocking attack by many terrorists and it will take them a long while to recover from it. Unfortunately, my client experienced an additional shock when he was informed that the assault case had been closed for lack of evidence of criminal culpability. This is abandonment by any standard. We demand that the police immediately conduct a thorough investigation with all means necessary and with the participation of intelligence agencies in order to apprehend the terrorists who viciously attacked the boys.”

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