Photo of the victim
Photo of the victimHonenu

Arabs attacked an elderly father and his son as they traveled in the city of Jaffa, after the pair attempted to pass the truck which the Arab attackers were driving.

The attackers beat the father, threw him on the ground, threatened him and his son with a screwdriver, and later escaped the scene. Police arrested the suspected attackers and an indictment is currently being filed against one of them.

The attack occurred last Tuesday, when the 70-year-old father was on his way to work together with his son. On the corner of Jaffa's Nes Lagoyim and Azza streets, the father, who drove the vehicle, passed a truck. Further along the street, the father was forced to stop, since there were vehicles ahead of his. At that point the truck they had passed stopped behind them and two Arabs got out of it and approached the father's vehicle.

The passenger window, where the son sat, was closed and the attacker did not manage to harm him. However, the driver's side window, where the father sat, was open.

"The big guy without saying a word began punching my father in the face," the son recalled. "My father tried to free himself from the seatbelt and push the guy away, but he grabbed my father by the shirt and threw him to the floor."

"In the meantime the youth who was on my side saw that he was not managing to open my door. He ran to the other side to help the big guy hit my father. They went wild and hit him wildly, they tore my father's shirt, punched him in the face and chest, threw him to the floor, and kicked him."

At one point the son attempted to separate the attackers from his father, but one of them ran to the truck and came back with a screwdriver. The attacker attempted to stab the father with the screwdriver, but the son managed to delay him. The attackers then turned to the son and threatened that if he does not move his vehicle to allow their truck to pass and escape, they will murder his father.

The son said that he had no choice other than to move the vehicle, due to concern for his father's life.

"They yelled that they will get us later. While they escaped with their truck, they rammed into our vehicle and drove off," he said.

The father suffered injuries to his face and body, as well as a break in his arm as a result of the attack.

The victims filed a complaint with Jaffa police, and the suspects were indeed arrested. However, it was discovered that the next day, the suspects were released, with the main suspect confined only to house arrest. An indictment is currently being filed against one of the attackers.

Attorney Haim Bleicher from the Honenu organization, who is representing the father and son, said: "We thank the police for arresting the suspects. We are sorry that the court released the suspects to house arrest. These are people who without a doubt are a danger to the public, who act violently in the city's streets. We would expect them to be in proper prison. I call on the prosecutors and the court to act in every possible way to bring the suspects to justice and leave them behind bars, for the sake of civilians' safety."

Last week, an Arab attacked a yeshiva student and posted the footage to TikTok. Days later, Arab youths attacked a Jew walking in Jerusalem, and on Friday, several yeshiva students were attacked in Jaffa.

On Sunday, Rabbi Mali and the yeshiva's director were attacked by Arabs while walking down the street. That same day, Arabs in Ramle attacked Jews, sending at least one of their victims to a local hospital.

On Monday, an Arab poured boiling coffee on Jews walking to the Western Wall.