An Arab threw a bottle at a Jew and injured him. The compensation? Only 1,500 NIS

February 14, 2021   

A plea agreement recently accepted by the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court determined that a 27-year-old Arab who attacked a Jewish boy in the Old City two and a half years ago when he threw a glass bottle at him and injured him will pay only 1,500 shekels in compensation. According to the plea agreement, it was decided to amend the indictment and state that the defendant threw an object, and also omitted the fact that the boy was injured in the head by the glass bottle. Despite the victim's statement and his objection, the plea agreement was accepted. The verdict given by the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court determined that the defendant would be obligated to pay monetary compensation to the complainant, a fine of only 500 NIS, and that he would not serve any actual prison time. The indictment also did not state that the incident was racially motivated. In the statement of the victim of the crime, the minor said that he was still in shock from the incident, and that he avoided passing through the scene of the incident following the injury and the area in general. In the statement, he described that when he was injured by the glass bottle, he was bleeding from his head and felt severe pain, and finally demanded that the defendant be sentenced to actual prison time. According to the sentencing protocol, Judge David Shaul Gabay Richter said: "After hearing the parties and the defendant, I am satisfied that the arrangement is appropriate under the circumstances of the act, and in the circumstances of the perpetrator, and therefore I will honor it." Attorney Haim Bleicher, who represented the victim of the crime on behalf of the Honenu organization, was puzzled by the judge's decision: "Why was the defendant not charged with a racist incident? It is clear that he threw the bottle at the guy because "His hatred of Jews." He also said about the plea agreement: "They were surprised to accept the plea agreement that gets the defendant out without a significant sentence. The prosecution committed three crimes here. They deleted the bottle throwing from the indictment and decided that an object was thrown and did not mention that the complainant was injured. The defendant was also not accused of a racist motive and ultimately did not receive a sentence. It is not clear to us why they came to the defendant to such an extent, we think that such conduct harms deterrence and encourages racist crime.".