Elderly Jews were assaulted going into Israel’s Beit Shmuel synagogue last year, yet the Israeli police have closed their investigation with no charges against any of the attackers.
The Jews, who were trying to enter the synagogue for a screening of a joint Israeli-Palestinian memorial ceremony, suffered various injuries. The synagogue is located in Ra’anana (central Israel, between Jerusalem and Haifa). There, a mob of up to 200 ‘rightist’ activists assaulted them, with some screaming racist slogans, issuing death threats, and following them inside the synagogue to continue their confrontation. Police evacuated the ones from the synagogue and, themselves, came under attack by the mob. Then attackers threw stones and other objects and vandalized the cars of spectators trying to flee the violence.
There was also evidence of premeditation, as the right-wing B’Tselem organization had published posters, prior to the event, that included an illustration of blood alongside the phrases “Terror supporters will not be allowed to enter Ra’anana” and “They will not be allowed to defile the city.” More than 20 victims filed complaints, including some of the names and documentation of their alleged attackers.
Police say that they have been unable to identify the suspects, despite all the video of unmasked attackers from various angles. Apparently, their investigation had focused upon five suspects alleged to have assaulted the police officers (and not upon any of the ones who “only” assaulted the elderly Jews). Police had arrested three of them on the night of the incident, released them the next morning, and supposedly now are unaware as to their identities.
One of the injured victims, the director of the Israeli Religious Action Center, attorney Orly Erez-Likhovski, told Haaretz: “It is inconceivable that a whole year after a violent mob of hundreds of people attacked the spectators of the ceremony, no one has been brought to justice. Dozens of videos were handed over to the police, so the claim that no suspects could be located is unacceptable. It’s not that the police can’t locate the perpetrators of the pogrom—they don’t want to.” Haaretz also quoted an activist lawyer, Gabi Lasky: “Can it be that in the middle of the State of Israel, on Memorial Day, a violent pogrom is being carried out against citizens, mainly in their 70s and 80s, and the police and the prosecutor’s office are closing the cases without an investigation and without indictments. This behavior by the police and the prosecutor’s office is aiding violence and creating a reality in which there is no one to protect people who do not align themselves with the government.”
In response, the police said: “In the investigation conducted for damage to property and person, a variety of actions were carried out, including attempts to identify and locate the suspects, and when they were not located, the file was closed. In the case dealing with alleged incitement, the investigation is still ongoing, including an examination of the relevant parties.” That is, the only case that remains open is one charging the participants.
Apparently, there is a way to threaten and to assault Jews and not be called an anti-Semite.
