Jerusalem Lynch Attempt Participants Ordered to Pay 180,000 Shekels to Victims
The Jerusalem Magistrate's Court ruled last week that two individuals involved in a lynch attempt near the Western Wall in May 2021 must pay 60,000 shekels each to three victims. The court highlighted the nationalist motive behind the attack, which targeted the victims due to their Jewish religious appearance, and noted the severe risk of violent death during the incident.
The attack occurred on May 10, 2021, amid widespread unrest in Israel during Operation Guardian of the Walls. Victims Efraim Shachor, Barak Baruch, and Roy Zaga were assaulted by a mob while driving near the Rockefeller intersection. Stones were thrown at their car, breaking windows, and the attackers sprayed pepper spray inside. The driver, Shachor, tried to escape but got stuck in traffic and was violently attacked when the assailants opened the car doors. Police intervention, including three warning shots fired by Officer Amir Ben Kiki, ended the assault.
Shachor sustained a scalp cut requiring local anesthesia, Baruch suffered a lip cut and leg pain, and Zaga experienced burning sensations and pain in his eyes, legs, and chest. The court accepted that the victims did not claim permanent disability and no further medical documentation was submitted beyond the criminal proceedings.
One defendant, a minor at the time, was convicted of attempted severe bodily harm with terrorist intent, stone-throwing at a vehicle, and intentional bodily harm, receiving 20 months imprisonment plus six months suspended and ordered to pay 8,000 shekels to each victim. The second defendant was convicted of aggravated intentional bodily harm with racist motives and sentenced to 40 months imprisonment plus eight months suspended and the same compensation.
In the civil suit, the victims sought 75,000 shekels each for pain and suffering plus punitive damages. The court rejected the defendants’ claims to share responsibility with others and dismissed the minor’s argument that his involvement was minor, emphasizing his active participation in multiple attack stages. Judge Eliad Winshal set the compensation at 60,000 shekels per victim, citing the physical injuries and the terror and fear experienced during the violent nationalist assault.
Attorney Chaim Bleicher from Honenu, representing the victims, praised the ruling as a significant deterrent against terrorism and vowed to continue efforts to ensure terrorists pay a heavy price. The defendants’ lawyers declined to comment on the verdict.
