Two curses can be heard at the end of the above video, please avoid playing it if you might be offended.
A Haredi man, 25, was violently brutalized Arab by parking inspectors in the Ramat Shlomo neighborhood of Jerusalem. The young man sustained head injuries and was evacuated to hospital by an MDA team.
The partial video records of the assault show one of the parking inspectors pushing the young man to the pavement, then hitting and kicking him. The young man then appears to be lying on the pavement bleeding while bystanders assist him.
The incident took place on Tuesday and began when the Haredi man got out of his car and moved a traffic cone which the inspectors had placed in the street, at which point the inspectors were all over him.
Several witnesses contacted Jerusalem Police, filed a complaint and provided documentation of the incident. The victim was taken from the emergency room to the police station where he, too, filed a complaint, and was questioned with warning (as a suspect – DI). The witnesses all supported the victim’s version of the incident and described how he had been attacked violently by the two public officials.
Despite the witnesses’ testimony and documentation, police released the attackers immediately following their interrogation. The victim was treated and then released to his home Wednesday afternoon.
A woman who witnessed the incident told Honenu: “The Hared guy was attacked without any provocation. It was shocking, his whole mouth was bleeding. I tried to help him. They hit him really hard. There were several attackers. We called police and they arrested one of the attackers. One of those Arabs had a baseball bat, police found the bat in the Arabs’ vehicle.”
Honenu legal aid society attorney Moshe Polski who represents the victim said in a statement: “It is inconceivable that a citizen would be attacked in the city streets with severe violence by traffic inspectors, without having done anything. The victim required a medical evacuation, and was evacuated by an MDA team to the hospital.
“Much to our astonishment, despite the brutal attack that caused real harm, Israel police chose to release the attackers after a brief interrogation, despite clear documentation and detailed testimony from bystanders about the incident. We urge police to immediately arrest the attackers, extend their detention and prosecute them, instead of neglecting the personal safety of Jerusalem residents, even if they are Haredim.”