Israeli rights group urges prosecution of activist after alleged assault on 12-year-old

A 12-year-old boy has filed a police complaint accusing left-wing activist Erich Asherman of assaulting him during an incident about a week ago in grazing land in eastern Binyamin, in the West Bank. The complaint says the encounter took place while the boy was with a donkey and a rope, and that Asherman tried to take the rope.

According to video from the scene, Asherman is seen gripping the child and trying to make him let go of the rope. In the background, the boy can be heard shouting, “Why are you pinching me? You are stealing my donkey.”

Following the complaint, Honenu lawyer Chaim Bleicher sent an urgent letter to police demanding that Asherman be removed from the area and that prosecutors move to indict him. Tom Nissani, a legal trainee with the organization, assisted with the case.

Bleicher said the footage clearly shows “how Asherman clings to the boy, hurts him and uses physical force against him unlawfully.” He added that this was not the first such incident involving Asherman and residents or minors in the area, and called on police to act quickly, keep the suspect away from the site, and bring him to trial.