A., a 25-year-old religious woman, was attacked by an ultra-Orthodox man in the Ramat Beit Shemesh B neighborhood because he claimed she was dressing immodestly, the Israel Hayom newspaper reports.
The serious incident occurred yesterday at around 2:20 PM on Nahar Jordan Street in Beit Shemesh. A. was waiting with her 3-year-old daughter at a bus stop when an ultra-Orthodox man suddenly burst in on her, yelling derogatory names, violently attacking her and even stealing her smartphone.
A., the shocked one who recounted the incident. "I took my daughter from daycare. I was in the middle of a phone call and suddenly an ultra-Orthodox man shouted 'whore' at me. I was scared of him and screamed. I immediately called the police. He saw it and ran towards me, he hit me hard and pulled my hair. I have blue marks on my thigh and back from the attack.".
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When she tried to call the police, A. says he attacked her, "He tried to take the phone from me while beating me terribly. I felt scared to death. He snatched the phone from my hand and ran with it into the alleys of the ultra-Orthodox Beit Shemesh.".
According to A., throughout the attack, which took place in broad daylight on a crowded street, none of the passersby came to her aid. "I screamed for help but no one helped. I cried and asked them to call the police because I was afraid he would come back and kill me. All the while, my daughter, who was very frightened, screamed and cried. After fifteen minutes, the police arrived. They started searching and were unable to locate him.".
""Having trouble relaxing""
The victim is having trouble calming down after the violent attack she suffered in Beit Shemesh. "I am a religious woman with a partial headscarf and a skirt. I couldn't sleep all night after this incident. My daughter is undergoing treatment following the incident, it's a terrible feeling. My daughter and I are very anxious. My daughter is in daycare in this neighborhood and I'm afraid to go back there.".
The police investigation and the testimony given by the woman after the incident indicate that while she was sitting at a bus stop in Ramat Beit Shemesh B, wearing a skirt that slightly exposed her legs, a 30-year-old Haredi approached her, commented on the way she was dressed, and said, "This is making the evil inclination go away." In response, the woman told him that he was being impudent, pulled out her cell phone, and was about to call the police when the Haredi attacked her, cursed her with insults, and pushed her. The woman fell, while the Haredi grabbed her cell phone and fled the scene.
With the help of people in the area, she called the police. A patrol car from the Beit Shemesh police station, which arrived at the scene, began searching but did not find the Haredi. The police took testimony from the woman and from the people who witnessed the incident and were able to obtain a reliable description of the attacker. Their suspicion fell on a man they knew from previous violent crimes and the police were about to go to his house and arrest him, but this morning he came to the police station on his own initiative, turned himself in, and even handed over the woman's cell phone.
During his interrogation, he confessed to the act. In the morning, the man was brought to the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court for an extended detention period. The offense attributed to him is assault.
