Please see here a list of posts relating to cases in which Honenu provided legal counsel to victims of antisemitic attacks in Jerusalem.
Tuesday, May 17, 2022, 14:37 Last winter, Arabs attacked a Jewish youth in the open-air market on David Street in the Old City of Jerusalem. The victim and Honenu Attorney Chayim Bleicher, who is representing him, were shocked to discover that despite complete video documentation of the humiliating and outrageous attack, the Jerusalem District Attorney’s office closed the investigative case. Bleicher filed an appeal demanding that the case be reopened and the attackers brought to trial.
The appeal describes the attack: “The appellant walked wrapped in a tallit and wearing tefillin to morning prayers, vatikin, at the Western Wall. At that early morning hour, the market street was almost completely empty. The two suspects walked up the street towards the appellant and when they came close to him, one of the suspects bent over and reached out for the appellant’s groin. The other suspect yelled and cursed the appellant. The appellant, as stated in the complaint filed with the police, felt a blow under his stomach and to his knee,” wrote Bleicher.
The assailant was interrogated, and Bleicher cited in the appeal many lies and contradictions that were revealed in his interrogation: “The suspect’s testimony was filled with bald-faced lies in an attempt to distance himself from the acts attributed to him. The suspect claimed under interrogation that the appellant shoulder-bumped him and therefore he wants to file a complaint against the appellant! Likewise, he claimed that after the run-in they stood opposite each other. The suspect also claimed that before the run-in he had not noticed the appellant at all. The suspect’s statements are completely contradicted by the video clip [from the security camera] in which the suspect is seen bending down before the attack and reaching out for the appellant’s groin, intentionally and maliciously, as he continued to walk.”
Honenu Attorney Chayim Bleicher, who is representing the victim, spoke about the case: “Specifically at this time, when the Jewish public is suffering from frequent nationalistically-motivated antisemitic attacks, the law enforcement and judicial systems must do their jobs, penalize antisemitic criminals to the full extent of the law, and deter them and others from repeating those acts. Failure to bring suspects to trial is a breach of public trust and damages the all-out war on terror. The suspects must be brought to trial and given the maximum penalties.
“The video clip of the shocking attack is reminiscent of dark episodes of Jewish history, during which Jews were humiliated and their dignity trampled. It is inconceivable that in the face of such attacks the Jerusalem District Attorney’s office would close cases involving terrorists and not defend the dignity and security of Jews in the State of Israel,” concluded Bleicher.