Jew Wounded in Terrorist Attack in Yerushalayim

A 27 year-old Jew was moderately wounded in a terrorist stabbing attack on Sunday afternoon near one of the entrances to the Old City of Yerushalayim.

The man was attacked at about 5:30 p.m. in Safra Square by a 19-year-old Arab man who had entered the capital illegally.

Avraham Goldstein, father of four children, recalled the attack: “I felt a sharp blow in my stomach. I began shouting that there was a stabbing and that they should move away, then he came to stab me again and I blocked him with my tefillin.”

“When I got to the scene I encountered a youth who was stabbed in the stomach,” said United Hatzalah medic Aryeh Yaffe. “He received initial care from members of United Hatzalah’s ambucycle unit, who arrived first on the scene within seconds of the attack. After initial treatment he was transported to the hospital for continued treatment. The victim was conscious and in a stable condition.”

The assailant was apprehended by Yerushalayim Mayor Nir Barkat and his security detail before he had a chance to flee the scene.

At a press conference afterwards, Barkat told reporters: “About an hour-and-a-half ago when I was on my way to the office for a meeting, while we were at the junction right next to City Hall, my driver and my team noticed something happening in the junction,” he said.
“So, I got out of the car with my bodyguard, and we approached the scene and noticed a terrorist with a knife in his hand. My bodyguard drew his weapon and when he aimed at the terrorist, he dropped his knife, and we immediately tackled him to the ground and held him until the police arrived,” he said.

Security footage of the incident showed Barkat lunging at the terrorist and wrestling him to the ground right after the attack.

This article appeared in print on page 1 of the February 23rd, 2015 edition of Hamodia.