"I realized after a few days that it's not a terrorist": Imprisonment sentence for a participant in a lynching in Bat Yam in Shomer Homat

The court today sentenced Yaakov Cohen to 15 months in prison, after he took part in a lynching on the promenade in Bat Yam about a year ago in which Said Musa, a resident of Ramla, who was driving in the area, was seriously injured.

Compared to other defendants, Cohen was not charged with terrorism because he did not take part in the organization to randomly harm Arabs

Karin Sagi

22/06/2022

Wednesday, 22 June 2022, 11:52 Updated: 13:57

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In the video: Walla!

Veteran Reuven Castro documented the lynching in Bat Yam and tried to stop the rioters (Walla system!)

The Tel Aviv District Court this morning (Wednesday) sentenced Yaakov Cohen to 15 months in prison for taking an active part in a lynching in Bat Yam, in which Ramle resident Said Musa was attacked by dozens of Jews during Operation Wall Guard.

Cohen was convicted as part of a plea bargain of premeditated grievous bodily harm.

Compared to other defendants who took part in the lynching, Cohen was not charged with felony criminal mischief because, according to the indictment, he did not take an active part in organizing to harm Arabs randomly, but stayed on the boardwalk occasionally, taking part in the attack.

In addition to the actual prison sentence, Cohen was sentenced to 8 months probation as well as NIS 5,000 in compensation to the lynching victim, Musa.

Cohen is expected to be released in about two months, as the 15 months of imprisonment imposed on him are counted from the day of his arrest, in May last year.

In the sentencing, the judges wrote that Cohen "did not commit the offenses out of a racist-nationalist motive."

In the verdict, the judges emphasized that a distinction must be made between Cohen and the others involved in the lynching.

"He was not part of the early organization and was not part of those groups and did not express racist views. His arrival was random and not in order to take some of the confrontations and disturbances in businesses. The defendant initially thought it was a car bomb attack, unlike the others who knew he was an innocent citizen."

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The evening of the lynching in Bat Yam (Photo: Reuven Castro)

According to the amended indictment, Yitzhak Goite, another defendant in the case, sent a message in the WhatsApp group called "Demonstration 22:00 Bat Yam Promenade" in which he wrote "Today there is no silence! An Arab man is an Arab in my mass grave."

This group had hundreds of members who participated in the demonstration, including some of the defendants listed in the indictment.

Goita later changed the name of the group, and stated in it and in another message that he had sent the time and location of the meeting "a seven o'clock evening demonstration on the Bat Yam promenade."

In the wording of the announcement, Goethe added that "Jewish honor is being restored to the people."

Later, he noted that in part of the promenade there are Arab businesses and wrote "I gave you the hint not to pity their families and not with anything related to them…".

Finally, Goita emphasized: "Friends, identify Jews, so that there will be no unpleasant incident."

According to the indictment, some of the defendants were members of the WhatsApp group and came to the promenade in Bat Yam in order to harm businesses belonging to Arabs.

More on Walla!

The victim of the lynching in Bat Yam tried to end his life: "The injury did not go away"

To the full article

He was electrocuted with a shocker, dropped on the floor and beaten.

Said Musa, victim of the lynching (Photo: Sapir Levy)

According to the indictment, around 9:30 PM, Said Musa arrived with his vehicle on the promenade and was identified by one of the attackers as an Arab.

Immediately afterwards, a chase began during which Musa, who was trying to escape from the scene, collided with another vehicle.

Cohen, who was on the boardwalk at the time with three other defendants and noticed the assault, arrived at the scene, slammed a glass on the vehicle and kicked it.

Then, Cohen electrocuted Musa with a shocker, knocked him to the floor and hit him.

According to the amended indictment, Cohen kicked Musa in the upper body.

As a result of the last lynching, Musa was seriously injured and was hospitalized with severe bruises, nasal crush fractures, orbital fractures, dental fractures, cuts and hemorrhages in the face and head.

In his testimony in court, Cohen testified that he did not take part in the organization and was not present in the riots, but only saw the collision of the vehicle and heard shouting about a car bomb attack.

In court, Cohen turned to Musa and apologized for his actions.

"I want to turn to Said, I really realized after a few days that it was not a terrorist, I was sure it was a terrorist," Cohen said.

"I went out and had a nightmare. I'm in a nightmare, I apologize, and may my apology reach him as well."

He later claimed that he was not a racist and added that he had worked in a carpentry shop for about ten years with Arab workers from East Jerusalem.

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