Honenu Atty. Bleicher (L) and Gabai’s father-in-law (R); Photo credit: Honenu
Thursday, February 8, 2024, 13:40 Honenu Attorney Chayim Bleicher wrote a letter to Justice Minister Yariv Levin and the State Attorney’s office asking them to appeal the sentence handed down to the terrorist who stabbed Meir Gabai, a Jewish resident of Lod, during Operation Guardian of the Walls. In June 2023, the Lod District Court convicted the terrorist of aggravated assault and an act of terror. The court sentenced him in January 2024 to only five and a half years’ imprisonment. The lenient sentence was handed down despite the terrorist’s previous involvement in several extremely violent incidents for which he was convicted previously, and despite his failure to express complete remorse for his acts.
In his letter, Attorney Bleicher cited the court ruling as proof of the severity of the terrorist’s acts and the necessity of appealing the lenient sentence: “The defendant saw the complainant, a man with a Jewish appearance, wearing a kippa and tzitzit, walking alone toward the synagogue. There was no contact or preliminary conversation between the complainant and the defendant and his friend. Influenced by the events of the time [Arab rioting throughout Israel, particularly in mixed cities such as Lod] and because the complainant is Jewish, the defendant threw two rocks at him, one after the other, without any justification or provocation by the complainant, and while he had his back to the defendant so that he could not have expected the attack and defended himself against it.
“The determination of the defendant to stab the complainant with a knife after attacking him with rocks indicates cruelty and lack of human compassion. The defendant did not stop stabbing the complainant voluntarily but rather was deterred and retreated when bystanders came to the aid of the complainant. After stabbing the complainant, the defendant carried out a series of actions designed to avoid apprehension, in a manner indicating restraint and mature conduct according to criminal patterns.”
Attorney Bleicher wrote in his letter that charging the terrorist with only aggravated assault, instead of attempted murder in an act of terror, was a mistake. He asked the State Attorney’s office to appeal the sentence to the Supreme Court: “From the facts as detailed in the sentence, a picture arises of an extremely dangerous terrorist with a violent past and present, who was determined in his acts and deviousness in committing numerous incidents of serious racial attacks against Jews. Because the terrorist was a minor at the time of the attack, and because of the crime attributed to him, there are no precedents corresponding to the facts of the case that would reflect genuine and appropriate punishment. Therefore the terrorist was sentenced to no more than a lenient five and a half years’ imprisonment.
“The penalization is considered stringent with regard to the terrorist’s status of a minor and the crime, but extremely lenient with regard to the facts of the case, its severity, consequences, the minor being on the verge of adulthood, his past record, and the serious acts he committed. Likewise, it should be noted that the legislature has set a penalty of 25 years for this crime under these circumstances. The appeal to the Supreme Court should demand a heavier sentence than the customary penalty for a crime committed by a minor. We are in a time of existential war for our right to live as a free Jewish people in our land. We cannot afford to be indifferent to murderous antisemitic acts such as that of this terrorist.”
Honenu Attorney Chayim Bleicher stated: “The judgements are unequivocal. The defendant is a dangerous, determined, and devious terrorist. The courts must match the penalty to the situation. The Supreme Court should not have released the terrorist from remand while ignoring the danger he posed. The terrorist should not be released in only a few years for another opportunity to carry out a terror attack. That would be ineffective deterrence against such attacks. A victim of terror and his family must not be left to live unbearable lives while the terrorist is released after a light sentence. We demand doubling and even tripling the penalty for the terrorist. Against terror, one must fight an all-out war without compromises.”