On video: Documentation of a lynching attempt in Tamra (Photo: Shlomi Gabai)
Two days ago (Thursday) the district court in Haifa sentenced three Tamra residents to seven years in prison for lynching a Jew.
A lynching occurred on the night of Eid al-Fitr, May 12, 2021, during the "Guardian of the Walls" operation, during which the three attacked a resident of a neighboring settlement, who was crossing the village in his car.
Also, the court sentenced another Tamra resident who drove them to five years in prison.
23-year-old Ibrahim Murih, 20-year-old Muhammad Abu Al-Hijah, and 21-year-old Baha Abu Al-Hijah participated in riots that evening at the entrance to Tamra, where they threw stones, burned tires, threw Molotov cocktails and shot Fireworks at police officers who arrived at the scene to restore order.
Near midnight, the police forcibly dispersed the riot, while using special measures to disperse demonstrations.
The three then teamed up with another young man, 19-year-old Muhammad Abu Rumi, in the Yishuv's Clock Square.
The victim of the attack, Shir Alkalai, then 49 years old, married and the father of four, was making his way from his job as a private gardener to his home in the nearby Mitzpe Aviv, with a large "Nachman Maoman" sticker on his car.
Due to the riots, the roads to the isolated settlement where he lives were blocked, and he took a detour within the Tamra settlement.
They discovered that he was Jewish, and began to attack his car.
The lynching in Tamra (photo: Walla! system, without)
"I almost succeeded," Alkalai told Walla.
When he had to stop the vehicle in a traffic jam, one of the people on the spot approached him, asked him if he was Arab, and Alkalai replied that he was Jewish.
When he heard the answer, the man started shouting at him in a loud voice "Jew, Jew".
In response to this, rioters began to gather around his vehicle, attacking him and his vehicle with stones, punches, kicks and using his gardening tools.
The results of the actions, especially the back injuries, give their signs in Alkalai to this day, and he has not yet returned to his physical work ability as before.
But, Alkalai testified precisely in favor of the attackers.
In his testimony, he described his difficult feelings during the incident and the shock he went through, but added that some time after the incident, a delegation of dignitaries from Tamra Keima forgave him and the families of the accused, as part of which they financed his treatment to restore his teeth, and the total damages as he estimated them, an amount of NIS 240,000 .
Alkalai asked the court not to burden his attackers with punishment, and even expressed a desire to meet with them, this is due to his world view that "a life of sharing and coexistence must be created between the populations and not to erect walls between them".
He stated that he is able to forgive his assailants, this is because "they did not come to the scene of the incident with the planned intention of harming someone and did not bring weapons from home with them".
The deputy mayor of Tamra also testified in court, after the city took the forgiveness process under its auspices.
The deputy mayor said that he is sure that both sides have reached a better place due to the forgiveness that was held.
Finally, the defendants turned to Alkalai in the courtroom and asked for his forgiveness.
The four defendants confessed to the acts during the joint investigation of the Shin Bet and the Northern District Police, and Morih and Abu Rumi even admitted that they had a nationalist motive.
Judge Erez Porat determined that they had committed an act of terrorism within the meaning of the Anti-Terrorism Law.
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The medical team that evacuated Alkalai, including Dr. Muhammad, who received a certificate of recognition (photo: Walla! system, without)
Judge Porat claimed that the seriousness of the attack is extremely high, because it also affects the sense of personal security of Jews passing near Arab villages, and sows fear.
"This is how more and more Jews find themselves avoiding travel in certain places, not once in the navel of the state," said Porat, "the personal security and right to freedom of movement of the Jewish population are compromised to the core. The judge also noted that the three were found guilty of throwing stones at the police who tried to rescue Alkalai , and thus your transgression is more serious. "The harm to public interests here must be looked at in a broader perspective - concerning the public as a whole," he said.
"Forgiveness is not the face of everything," said the judge, adding that it was a "brutal act of its kind, which arouses disgust and human degradation of the first degree."
The judge repeated and noted that the lynching case in question did not end as a result of the defendants' decision to stop, but as a result of other people who "had a glimmer of humanity among them", and defended Alkalai.
The judge mentioned and noted favorably the team of the intensive care unit "El Zahrawi", who were called to the scene by the residents of the settlement, and even worked to drive the attackers away.
Dr. Muhammad Awad of Tamra was also mentioned, who evacuated Alkalai to Rambam Hospital in Haifa and even received a certificate of recognition for his activity at the event.
The defense attorneys, attorneys Sahar Parr, attorney Moshe Gilad and attorney Valentin Zabrov from his office, attorney Ahmed Masalha and attorneys Tami Ullman, Shadi Saroji and Shaf Ullman said in reference that they are studying the sentence, before deciding on their next steps.
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