Worshipers attacked outside of Hurva Synagogue

Thursday, October 24, 2019, 9:00 On the night of October 21, after the Simchat Torah holiday, as worshipers left the Hurva Synagogue Complex in the Old City of Jerusalem they were assaulted by Arabs. The assailants shoved their way past border policemen and beat the worshipers as they left synagogue after evening prayers. When one of the injured worshipers went to the police station to file a complaint, he was surprised to find himself detained and interrogated under warning.
Honenu Attorney Chayim Bleicher sent a letter to the Merchav David (Old City) Police demanding a thorough investigation into the attack: “After the Simchat Torah holiday, members of a minority group started a violent disturbance on Rechov HaYehudim near the Hurva Synagogue in the Old City [of Jerusalem]. Border policemen arrived on the scene and formed a barrier between the assailants and passers-by.
“Simultaneously, evening prayers after the [Simchat Torah] holiday ended at the Hurva Complex. My client and many other worshipers left in the direction of Rechov HaYehudim. The assailants, who noticed the worshipers as they left the synagogues, shoved past the border policemen and began to attack my client and other worshipers at the scene, in full view of the policemen.”
One of the worshipers asked where to complain to the police about the injuries he sustained in the attack and was directed to the Merchav David Police Station. The letter continued: “When he reached your station he was surprised to discover that he was ‘detained’ and interrogated under ‘warning’. Other worshipers who came to the police station to file complaints about the beating they had suffered from the assailants were asked to come and complain the following morning.”
Honenu Attorney Chayim Bleicher: “A brazen attack on a crowd of worshipers as they leave a synagogue, in the presence of policemen, constitutes crossing a red line. An incident such as this cannot be brushed aside.” Bleicher noted that the site of the attack has a network of security cameras and demanded “a thorough investigation so that the assailants can be penalized to the full extent of the law.”