Arab Who Tried to Murder Jew in Old City Gets Plea Deal

An Arab who tried to murder a Jew in the Old City of Yerushalayim by throwing a cinder block at his head has been sentenced to 54 months in prison. In the plea deal, Mahmad Razam pleaded guilty to chargers of aggravated terrorism. Besides the jail sentence, he will have to pay NIS 10,000 to his victim.

The incident occurred in January 2018, when the Jewish resident of the Old City was walking home. Razam, threw the cinder block on the victim’s head from a height of four meters, injuring him and causing him to require stitches. At the trial, it emerged that Razam and other Arabs had threatened the victim numerous times, demanding that he leave his home. The Jewish victim took to wearing a plastic protective shield under his hat, and only thus avoided having his skull bashed in.

Attorney Chaim Bleicher of the Honenu rights group, who represented the victim, said that “the perpetrator tried to murder my client only because he was Jewish. We appreciate that authorities arrested and tried him, but we regret that he was not convicted of attempted murder for nationalistic purposes, as he should have been. We will work to ensure that the maximum penalty is imposed on this terrorist.”