Please click here for a list of posts relating to cases in which Honenu provided legal counsel to victims of antisemitic attacks in Jerusalem.
Thursday, November 14, 2024, 16:01 In a compromise agreement, the Jerusalem Magistrates Court awarded NIS 19,000 compensation to the victim of an August 2020 attack. The incident began when Arabs clashed with a group of Jews walking through the Old City of Jerusalem. An Arab who was passing by the site of the clash threw a glass bottle at the group of Jews, hitting one of the Jews in the head. The bottle broke and cut his head, and he was taken to hospital to have his wounds stitched. After the attack, the victim filed a complaint with the police, but the case was closed by the State Attorney’s office.
Honenu Attorney Chayim Bleicher fought a legal battle on behalf of the victim. The effort led to the reopening of the case and the conviction of the assailant. The Jerusalem Magistrates Court sentenced the assailant in a plea bargain to two months’ imprisonment that was commuted to community service. In addition, the victim was awarded NIS 3,000 in compensation. Following the conviction of the assailant, Attorney Bleicher sued him on behalf of the victim in civil proceedings, which concluded with the NIS 19,000 award.
The altercation, the thrown bottle is visible; Video credit: Israel Police
The statement of claim describes the incident: “On August 12, 2020, the complainant was walking on Via Dolorosa in the Old City of Jerusalem toward HaGai Street with a group of fellow Jews. At some point, an argument broke out between the group of which the complainant was a part and Arabs at the site. In the course of the argument, after words were exchanged, an altercation followed with the Arabs and Jews pushing each other. Another Arab, the defendant, passing the site with his son, approached one of the members of the Jewish group, and grabbed his shirt, then lifted a chair, apparently with the aim of throwing it at the group. After the altercation died down and the two groups were separating and leaving the site, the defendant threw a glass bottle at the complainant, which hit his head, causing a three-centimeter cut in his scalp that required stitches and bandaging at the hospital.”
Attorney Bleicher reacted to the court’s decision: “The compromise agreement concludes the case of a serious assault case on a Jew. We fought a legal battle in both criminal and civil proceedings, against the police and the State Attorney’s office, to ensure that the assailant would pay a high price for his acts. We expect this incident to increase deterrence and lead to an understanding among the enemy population that a high price will be exacted for every attack on a Jew.”