The alleged assailant who attacked liberal Rabbi Arik Ascherman on the West Bank with stones, fists, kicks, and a knife has been indicted. Ascherman – the executive director of Rabbis for Human Rights – was trying to show a Belgian reporter a group of West Bank Jewish settlers who were in the processes of illegally burning down a Palestinian olive grove when the violent assault by the masked settler took place.
Masked Settler Who Admitted To Assaulting Liberal Rabbi In The West Bank With Knife, Fists, And Stones Is Charged With Hate Crime Assault
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
The alleged assailant who attacked liberal Rabbi Arik Ascherman on the West Bank with stones, fists, kicks, and a knife has been indicted, Ha’aretz reported. Ascherman – the executive director of Rabbis for Human Rights – was trying to show a Belgian reporter a group of West Bank Jewish settlers who were in the processes of illegally burning down a Palestinian olive grove near the radical Jewish settlement of Ithamar when the violent assault by the masked settler took place.
The 17-year-old assailant, who is not publicly named because of his age, was indicted today on charges of causing grievous bodily harm under aggravated circumstances, possession of a knife and possession of ammunition for the attack, which took place in late October and which was caught on video.
A police search of the suspect's family home found a knife that matches the one seen on the video of the attack, a mask, a military stun grenade, a loaded clip for an assault rifle, and a slingshot – a favorite weapon used by radical settler youth against media, human rights groups like Ascherman’s, Palestinians and, sometimes, against the IDF and police, as well.
In the attack, the allegedl assailant ran toward Ascherman and a foreign journalist while holding stones, waving a knife, and ordering them to go away. The alleged assailant then stoned Ascherman and immediately followed that by hitting and kicking him, all while waving the knife and continuing to threaten Ascherman. At that point, Ascherman began to fall downhill. The alleged assailant continued the assault as Acherman stumbled away. The defendant them tightly grabbed Ascherman's neck in a choke hold and knocked him on his knees, all the while hitting Ascherman in the head.
The alleged assailant is known to the police from his involvement in previous incidents. When arrested late last week he allegedly admitting assaulting Ascherman and reenacted the assault.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, a follower of the late extremist Rabbi Meir Kahane who is the alleged assailant’s attorney, called Adcherman a “provocateur” and insisted his client’s confession is invalid because it was made before the alleged assailant was allowed to consult a lawyer.
It is “regrettable that at a time of attacks on settlers [the police anti-hate crime unit] is dealing with a case in which a leftist provocateur was provoking settlers and inciting Arabs to commit attacks, and instead of keeping him away – it’s harassing the [real] Jews,” Ben-Gvir said.