Jewish teen charged with race-motivated assault in Jerusalem
18-year-old indicted for beating Arab man he believed was dating a Jewish woman.
By UDI SHAHAMUpdated: SEPTEMBER 12, 2017 03:24
Yechiel Wissenstern, an 18-year-old from Modi’in Illit, was indicted on Sunday for a racially-motivated assault in the Mahaneh Yehuda market in Jerusalem on September 4 in which Wissenstern and two other men allegedly attacked an Arab man.According to the indictment, the man was walking with a Jewish female friend in the market when Wissenstern approached and asked for a cigarette. When the man said no, Wissenstern and his friends followed the couple, later asking the girl if she was Jewish and asking the man why he was dating Jewish women.Whene the man replied that they were just coworkers, Wissenstern pulled out a knife and said: “You are going out with a Jewish girl, we will f*** you up today.” Wissenstern and his friends started hitting the man until he fell on the ground. They then kicked their victim, shouting insults and threatening that the man could no longer work in Mahaneh Yehudah. A passing stranger eventually separated Wissenstern and his friends from the man.Attorney Aviad Dweck from the Jerusalem District Prosecutor’s Office submitted a request to the Jerusalem District Court to remand Wissenstern until legal proceedings are completed. In his request, Dweck stated that Wissenstern was a danger to the public and that his release might put the victim’s life in danger.