Police station in the Old City of Jerusalem
Police station in the Old City of JerusalemEliran Aharon

A yeshiva student was attacked on Purim while walking in Jerusalem's Old City, but police closed the case after just three days.

The student, an 18-year-old Lithuanian haredi, was walking on Purim in the Old City when an Arab began to pummel him, for no apparent reason.

The Jewish teen succeeded in escaping his attacker, and filed a complaint with Israel Police the following day. However, after three days, he was surprised to find that the case had been closed, with no explanation given.

The teen, who lives in Jerusalem, said that he had been invited to eat the Purim meal in the Old City's Jewish Quarter. While walking slightly tipsy in the Old City, and listening to music, he passed by a group of Arabs. Suddenly, to his surprise, one of the group began attacking him.

"One of them got up, kicked me in the stomach, and punched me in the face," he described. "The blow hurt me for several days afterwards. The next day, on Thursday, I filed a complaint with the police. When I called on Sunday to ask what was happening with the case, they told me it had been closed. They didn't explain why. I feel like the police scorned me."

The teen's attorney, Haim Bleicher of Honenu, sent a letter to the Merhav David police station, requesting the materials from the case, so that he would be able to appeal its closure. In addition, Bleicher requested to ascertain that the police had collected security footage of the scene.

"This is an ugly anti-Semitic attack," Bleicher emphasized in his letter. "The law enforcement organizations have an obligation to eliminate this serious trend."