Violent attacks against Arab bystanders and journalists were reported Tuesday, after the funeral of Shimon Cohen, who died Monday when a bomb exploded shortly after noon in Jerusalem’s crowded Machaneh Yehuda market.
Nine other Israelis, including a 6-year-old boy, were wounded in the attack, which enraged Jews and sparked reprisals against Arabs.
No injuries were reported Tuesday in the second day of such violence, which consisted mainly of rock-throwing attacks against vehicles driven by Arabs or journalists.
The attacks against Arabs were confined to the stoning of their passing vehicles, according to Army Radio.
The incidents took place along Shmuel Hanavi Street, near the Sanhedria funeral parlor. They occurred after the funeral cortege itself had left the parlor en route for the Har Hamenuhot cemetery, on the western outskirts of the city.
The Foreign Press Association protested the much more serious attacks Monday against journalists covering the aftermath of the bomb blast. Reporters and camera crews were pelted with rocks and other heavy objects, and one news photographer was hospitalized after being punched and kicked.
The press association indirectly blamed the violence on remarks made last week in Scandinavia by Israeli President Chaim Herzog, who was on a state visit there. The president, whose remarks were widely broadcast here, was quoted as blaming the press in part for the recent up-surge in international criticism of Israel.
The FPA, the Israel Journalists Association and the director of the Government Press Office all have issued statements demanding that journalists be enabled to perform their duties without encountering interference from citizens.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
