Dozen Jewish-owned cars vandalized in mixed Jerusalem neighborhood

Incident follows day of heightened tension between Arabs and Jews observing Ramadan and Tisha Be’av.

By DANIEL K. EISENBUD
Abu Tor_521 (photo credit: Courtesy)
Abu Tor_521
(photo credit: Courtesy)
The tires of at least a dozen Jewish-owned vehicles were slashed overnight Wednesday in Jerusalem’s Arab-Jewish neighborhood of Abu Tor, where Arab cars have previously been vandalized in “price-tag” attacks by Jewish radicals.
According to Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld, Wednesday’s vandalism is being considered a criminal act and not politically motivated.
He added that no arrests have been made, although an investigation into the incident is ongoing.
The vandalism followed pronounced tensions among Arabs and Jews Tuesday during Tisha Be’av and Ramadan, after hundreds of Jews were denied entry to the Temple Mount earlier in the day due to Arab threats of rioting.
Later that evening, an ultra- Orthodox Israeli man in his thirties was stabbed multiple times outside Damascus Gate in east Jerusalem by two Arab men.
According to Rosenfeld, the two suspects accosted the unidentified victim while he was walking home from the Western Wall. The two men then proceeded to stab him in the abdomen before fleeing the scene.
The victim was subsequently rushed to Shaare Zedek Medical Center, where he was listed in moderate condition.
Rosenfeld said Wednesday that a large-scale investigation into the stabbing has been initiated, but that no arrests have been made.