By: Aryeh Savir
The Magistrate’s Court in Tiberias on Monday sent three Arabs who attacked two yeshiva students at a gas station in the north to prison and ordered them to pay compensation to the victims, as part of a plea agreement.
Under the settlement, the three defendants pled guilty to the offenses of assault and sabotage by a group of two or more, and causing injury while the offender is armed.
Two of the attackers were sentenced to 10 months in prison each, and the third to eight months in prison. In addition, they were sentenced to probation as well as payment of compensation of NIS 10,000 to the victims, a total of NIS 30,000.
The attack occurred about four months ago at the gas station near the town of Migdal, just north of Tiberias. The three Arabs severely beat the two yeshiva students while shouting racist slurs.
The complainants said that the attackers beat them while shouting “Allahu Akbar” and tried to run them over with their vehicle.
The victims were evacuated to a hospital while suffering severe injuries. One of them suffered an injury to his jaw and nose and needed stitches.
Advocate Haim Bleicher, of the Honenu legal rights organization, who represented the victims, said that “this is a severe incident of violence. Unfortunately, the attackers were not charged from the onset for committing an offense with racist motives. In addition to this. and despite evidentiary difficulties in the case, we, on behalf of the victims of the offense, insisted that any plea deal include actual substantial imprisonment against the defendants and significant compensation.”
The victims intend to file a civil lawsuit against the defendants, “to continue to work to increase deterrence against anti-Semitic attackers so that everyone knows that it is not profitable to attack a person because he is a Jew.”
Yehuda, one of the victims of the attack, said that “this attack was severe and shocking. We stopped to refuel, and they shouted at us and cursed at us, came out at us with iron clubs. They did not stop beating us, they also pulled on our Peot (sidelocks). In the end, the driver also tried to run me over, at the last minute I jumped aside. I was sure we were done for.”
“It is reassuring to know that the attackers are in prison, beyond the payment of compensation. I hope that this punishment will make others think twice before they rush to attack Jews,” he added.
