The Tel Aviv District Court convicted Netanel Binyamin (27), from Bat Yam, for his involvement in riots that took place in the city during Operation Guardian of the Walls, during which dozens of rioters smashed the windows of Arab-owned businesses, looted and vandalized restaurants, and attempted to lynch Said Musa, who was passing by.
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The indictment filed by the Tel Aviv District Attorney's Office in 2021 indicates that during Operation Guardian of the Walls, Benjamin posted calls on a WhatsApp group to attack Arab-owned businesses, and together with dozens of other rioters, on May 12, 05, went to Ben Gurion Street in the city, where they smashed the windows of businesses, vandalized a restaurant and looted it.
After Benjamin entered the restaurant with other rioters, he went up to the counter where other rioters were already standing, dismantled the restaurant's light bulbs and smashed them. Benjamin went into the kitchen, took a large quantity of cans and distributed it to the rioters.
The damage on the Bat Yam promenade after the riots, photo: Yossi Zeliger
Bat Yam promenade the morning after the lynching and riots, photo: Yossi Zeliger
Subsequently, Binyamin attacked Sa'id Musa, who was passing by with his car, along with dozens of other rioters. Benjamin punched the complainant in the face with about 10 punches while he was lying on the ground, and kicked him in the neck herself. After passersby protected Musa, Benjamin walked away, then came back again, kicking Musa in the head and throwing a bottle in his face, intending to cause his death. At the same time as and after his attack, along with other rioters who attacked and looted Musa's car, Benjamin slammed an object into the vehicle and punched it.
As stated, a panel headed by Judge Gilia Ravid convicted Benjamin of all the offenses attributed to him by the State Prosecutor's Office in the indictment, including a terrorist act of attempted murder, intentional sabotage of a racially motivated vehicle, racially motivated theft and rioting resulting in racially motivated damage. Benjamin will be sentenced later.
In her verdict, Judge Gilia Ravid wrote: "The incident on which the indictment revolves is a difficult, sleep-depriving event, a violent incident of hatred during which an Israeli Arab citizen who found himself in innocent circumstances in the promenade area of Bat Yam, found himself forced to fight for his life in the face of an angry mob of people who brutally attacked him, solely because he was an Arab.
"When the policeman approached the defendant and the other rioters, the defendant began to flee", Border Police forces during the Guardian of the Walls protests, photo: Michelle Dot Com
Demonstrators during Guardian of the Walls, photo: Dudu Greenspan
Riots in Haifa during Operation Guardian of the Walls (archive), photo: Michel Dot Com
"The videos that documented the incident in real time are difficult to watch. The testimonies we heard from journalists and passersby were chilling. For some of the documenters, it is clear that they experienced a traumatic event by witnessing what happened. Some of them could not hold back their tears as they described the incident to us, despite the passage of time.
"The phrase that ran through the words of the prosecution witnesses was 'lynch.' It was clear to them that before their eyes a violent act was being carried out by a mob that wished to judge the complainant to death. The witnesses felt they were watching an event that could end in death. None of the witnesses believed in real time that the complainant was a terrorist who had come to carry out an attack. None of the witnesses heard warning cries of "terrorist," but on the contrary, nationalist cries of "Arab Arab."
Upon receiving the verdict, attorneys Ofra Kermani and Rotem Neumann Wasserman of the State Prosecutor's Office said: "We welcome the court's decision to attribute a racist motive to the defendant's actions and to recognize the attempted murder as an act of terrorism. The decision reflects the severity of the actions and their significant harm to society as a whole, when they were carried out during this tense and sensitive period."
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