JERUSALEM (JTA) — A Jewish-Israeli man was arrested in the assault on a Rabbis for Human Rights leader.
Israel Police on Sunday brought in the man who last month allegedly threatened Rabbi Arik Ascherman with a knife while he was helping Palestinians harvest olives near the settlement of Itamar, not far from the West Bank city of Nablus, Haaretz reported. The masked assailant is thought to have kicked and punched Ascherman.
The incident was caught on video.
In a statement released on the Rabbis for Human Rights Hebrew-language website, Ascherman, the former executive director of the human rights organization, thanked police for apprehending the suspect, adding that the arrest proves the police can arrest right-wing attackers of Palestinians when they try.
“Even when suspects are arrested for attacking Palestinians, there are very few convictions,” Ascherman said in the statement, citing statistics from the human rights organization Yesh Din. “We hope that the truth will be found out quickly in court and in the interrogation room – while preserving the rights of the suspect – and that the suspect will be severely punished if he is found guilty.”
