Honenu Attorney Chayim Bleicher; Photo credit: Honenu
Monday, August 25, 2025, 8:28 Several years ago, a Jewish family was attacked by an Arab, Rani Yassin, in the Beit Hanina neighborhood of Jerusalem. The attacker was convicted of assault in criminal proceedings. Recently, the family was awarded compensation in civil proceedings. Honenu Attorney Chayim Bleicher filed the suit on behalf of the family.
According to affidavits from the family, they were brutally attacked by the Arab terrorist as they drove through Beit Hanina. Due to the obvious Jewish appearance of the family, the motive was clearly antisemitic. The attacker kicked the windshield of the family’s car with enough force to shatter it. The father of the family was injured in his neck and arm by glass shards. He suffered pain and briefly lost consciousness. The mother, who was driving the car, continued driving although she was extremely shocked. Their three children, who were in the car, experienced anxiety and fear when they saw their father injured.
Initially, the charges against the attacker in criminal proceedings did not specify racism as a motive. However, Jerusalem Magistrates Judge Elazar Bialin wrote in his ruling that it was obvious that the attack was carried out because the victims were Jewish. Judge Bialin also rejected the plea bargain offered by the prosecution to the Arab assailant and increased the penalty.
The attacker, with the support of the State Attorney’s office, who demanded that the lenient plea bargain be implemented, appealed the decision to the Jerusalem District Court. Attorney Bleicher, representing the family as victims of terror, came to the hearing and demanded that the appeal be rejected and the attacker’s penalty increased. In the end, the appeal was only partially accepted. The penalty was lenient, but two months were added to the prison term, and the family was awarded more compensation than had been demanded initially.
Following the criminal conviction, Attorney Bleicher filed a suit in civil proceedings for NIS 440,000 compensation. The sum includes compensation for the pain, suffering, and distress of each of the family members, and NIS 150,000 in punitive compensation for the malicious acts of the attacker. Because the Arab attacker did not file a statement of defense by the time determined by law, Jerusalem Magistrates Court Senior Registrar Shai Tzarfati accepted the suit in full. In addition to the requested sum, the family was awarded NIS 29,504 for court costs and attorney’s fees.
Attorney Bleicher issued a statement: “Attacking a Jewish family in their car is an antisemitic act of terror that is highly detrimental to the security of the Israeli public. For an unclear reason, the charges against the attacker did not include the terrorist motive and led to an absurd outcome. Judge Elazar Bialin did well to correct the flaw. Unfortunately, due to the failures of the prosecution and the State Attorney’s office, justice was not served to the assailant until the completion of the criminal proceedings. We made every effort to exact a high price from the attacker in civil proceedings with the understanding that civil suits demanding financial compensation can act as a deterrence for criminals of this sort.”