A Jewish man has been questioned by police, fingerprinted, and required to sign a large financial guarantee, after displaying a toy gun in self-defense after being threatened by an Arab gang.
The man was with his 13-year-old son at the time of the attack, which occurred two weeks ago in a JNF forest near Rosh Haayin, where he lives. The two Jews had been visiting the forest and taking photographs, in preparation for an event for special-needs children.
While there, a group of Arabs approached, surrounding the two, and threatening them with a knife. It was then that the man recalled his son's toy gun in the back seat of his car, and he managed to retrieve it and place it in the belt of his pants. This caused the Arabs to retreat and he and his son made their escape and also alerted police to what had transpired.
Several hours later, police officers arrived at the man's home, but to his astonishment, instead of collecting testimony from him, he was taken for questioning as his family looked on. All his explanations were to no avail.
Attorney Haim Bleicher of the Honenu organization is now representing the Jewish man and has appealed to the Central District Police Chief to apprehend the Arab attackers and prosecute them, and also to delete the criminal record against his client.
“My client planned to hold a party for children with special needs in this park, and he went with his 13-year-old son to inspect the area," Bleicher wrote. "My client was standing next to his vehicle and taking pictures when suddenly, members of a minority group began to gather around him in a threatening manner, shouting at him and demanding to know why he was taking pictures.
"The man told the Arabs why he was there but only received more threats in response. The gang managed to distance him from his vehicle, warning him that 'You [Jews] have nothing to look for here.' A woman, part of the gang, then drew out a knife and approached the two, shouting, 'We are Bedouins, and we will slaughter you.'
"When my client was later detained, despite repeating the threatening incident with the knife to police, police investigating the incident accused my client of lying, based on the fact that he did not call police while the attack was in progress. My client explained that he had called police immediately afterward and produced his phone's call log as proof. The investigator then claimed that my client had called and hung up immediately, in order to create a false impression. Only after my client showed him a repeat message after the call and after his phone was taken for inspection did the police announce that his report call to the 100 hotline had been located."
Nonetheless, police still fingerprinted the victim and he was forced to sign a large financial guarantee and banned from contacting those involved in the incident.
Attorney Bleicher attacked the conduct of the police, noting that, “The injustice arising from the sequence of events should not be underestimated. This was a serious incident, in which a family encountered violent and dangerous members from a minority population who threatened my client's life.
"Nonetheless, it was my client who was detained as if he had been the criminal in the case, even though he had been acting in self-defense. This police response deprives citizens of any possibility of attempting self-defense," he concluded.