10th suspect indicted in attack against Arab teen

Tenth suspect indicted for beating of 17-year-old Jamal Julani in Jerusalem; charges include assault, racial incitement.

By MELANIE LIDMAN
Nariman Julani 370 (photo credit: Ilene Prusher)
Nariman Julani 370
(photo credit: Ilene Prusher)
The Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office indicted a 10th suspect at the Jerusalem District Court on Wednesday in the August beating of 17-year-old Jamal Julani downtown.
Indictments were brought in two Jerusalem courts last month against nine other suspects connected with the mob attack on the Arab teenager. The charges include aggravated assault and battery, racial incitement and inciting violence.
Nine of the suspects are minors, and two of those are girls. The only adult is 19-year-old Shimon Siman-Tov, a resident of the capital. The latest suspect is also a minor.
According to a partial indictment released to the public due to the suspect’s status as a minor, the events in question took place in central Jerusalem’s Hatulot Square on Thursday night, August 16. Around 60 youth gathered and started harassing Arab youths sitting in the area, the release stated.
The Jewish youth allegedly pushed and kicked some of the Arabs passing by, and one yelled at them, “Get out of here, I’ll [expletive] you.”
Another one of the youths challenged the group, saying “Whoever is a man will go beat up an Arab,” the indictment stated, adding that the Jewish youths also chanted “Muhammad is dead!” and “Death to Arabs,” among other racist songs and chants.
At around 11:30 p.m., some 30 people in the group moved toward Zion Square with the goal of “beating up Arabs,” according to indictments against other suspects. The group saw one Arab and attempted to catch him, the indictments said, but he was able to run away.
A few minutes later, four Arabs passed by and the group allegedly started attacking them. The four began to flee, but 17- year-old Julani fell as he was running, and the Jewish teens immediately surrounded him.
The attackers allegedly beat Julani unconscious, to the point that he had no pulse. Paramedics who arrived on the scene used CPR and defibrillators for more than 10 minutes before his pulse returned, and evacuated him in critical but stable condition to Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem’s Ein Kerem neighborhood.
After more than a week in the hospital, Julani was able to return home and started attending his last year of high school, though he is still suffering from the after-effects of the attack, according to reports.