Arab Muslim who blinded Jew will not sit one day in prison
Court sentences Arab who fired marble at Jew causing blindness in the eye to only community service.
An Arab who fired a slingshot at Jews marching in Jerusalem’s Old City and caused blindness in the eye of one of his victims will not sit a single day in prison, according to the verdict of Judge Avital Molad of the Juvenile Magistrates Court in Jerusalem.
The incident took place five years ago. Three Breslov Jewish youths were walking to the Western Wall. While passing one of the Old City’s alleyways, a number of young Arabs began provoking them.
On their way back, the Arabs had returned to the same place and began shooting marbles at the Jews with slingshots. One of the boys was hit by a marble in his eye, was sent to Hadassah Medical Center where he stayed for a few days and underwent surgery, almost completely losing vision in one eye.
The boy turned to the civil aid society Honenu, where they helped him to realize his rights as a crime victim – and was further recognized as a “victim of hostilities”, allowing him a disability pension and for the state to pay the heavy medical bills the family has had to deal with.
Honenu even followed the trial of the 13-year-old Arab attacker who was arrested and indicted for aggravated assault while using “cold” weapons, as well as for the attempted wounding of the other boys. Despite the serious incident the attacker was released, and later got entangled in other incidents including rioting and assaulting a police officer.
Two weeks ago, Atty. Menashe Yaddo of Honenu‘s Civil Department handling the case, was updated that the attacker, who is now 18 years old, will be sentenced to a mere six months of community service.
Attorney Yaddo said, “This ridiculous punishment is not proportional to the damage and the severity of the acts committed by the attacker. The punishment also does not fulfill the requirements of deterrence against rising Arab nationalist violence, much of which is carried out by minors. Unfortunately this sentence could be interpreted as a license to attack Jews.”
