A Jew who was attacked by an Arab mob in the “mixed city” of Jaffa two weeks ago has discovered that the State Prosecution has declined to view the assault as racially motivated.
The Jew in question had been walking along Yeffet Street in Jaffa, holding a telephone and a baseball bat, when a group of Arab youths attacked him. One of the Arabs tried to run him down with his electric bicycle, while the others kicked and punched him and also hit him with a plastic chair and with the victim’s own baseball bat.
An indictment has now been issued against four Arabs, which notes the severity of the assault but does not define it as racially motivated.
In a conversation with Kan News, the attack victim described how he “was thrown backward into a wall. They dragged me to the road and started to kick me and hit me with a chair. There’s no way they could have thought I was a tourist. It’s clear to me that the State Prosecution is the problem here.”
For its part, the Prosecution stated that from its study of the evidence related to the attack, it appears that the victim wore no outwardly identifiable signs of being Jewish. It added that he addressed the attackers in English, and that the most likely explanation is that the attackers became angry at the victim because he was filming them and attacked him. “Therefore, it was decided that there is insufficient evidence to prove without doubt that the deeds were racially motivated. This does not diminish either the severity of the crime or the culpability of the perpetrators.”
The Prosecution Service also noted that it “is making every effort to bring all perpetrators of crimes to justice” and that to date, “over 140 indictments have been issued, against around 230 suspects, both Arab and Jewish, some of whom are minors.” The indictments are for a large variety of infractions including attacks on police officers, participating in rioting, throwing of stones, arson, and obstruction of police in the course of their duties. “In cases where sufficient evidence exists to link the crimes with racial motives beyond all reasonable doubt, the suspects are also charged with committing racially motivated crime. In most of the cases concerned, police have submitted requests to detain the suspects until the conclusion of proceedings against them.”