“Until terrorists get life sentences with no possibility of parole, they won’t be deterred,” said Matan Peleg, head of the Im Tirzu organization.
By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News
An Arab Israeli who attempted to lynch a Jew last year in Acre during Operation Guardian of the Walls was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment Monday in Haifa District Court.
Adham Bashir, 25, was among dozens who attacked Mor Janashvilli during the riots that broke out in several mixed Arab-Jewish cities while the IDF attacked the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip in May 2021 for launching missiles into Israel.
The judges, who ruled unanimously, also gave Bashir a suspended sentence and ordered him to pay Janashvilli NIS 150,000 in compensation for his injuries.
The victim was in court for the sentencing, as he had been for much of the lengthy legal proceedings.
“Jewish blood isn’t forfeit,” he said in reaction. “All the judges in Israel need to follow the example of these judges. I teared up in joy.”
“I was very concerned that this wouldn’t be the message sent by the court,” he added. “I want to thank the people of Israel; my fight is for the Jewish people and I came to all the court sessions with the knowledge that the nation is behind me.”
Matan Peleg, head of the Im Tirzu organization that promotes Zionist values in Israel, who had accompanied Janashvilli to the court sessions, was less enthusiastic.
“Until terrorists get life sentences with no possibility of parole, they won’t be deterred,” he said. “A reality in which the terrorist who commits a lynching will get out of prison in seven years is intolerable. We will continue to accompany terror victims and make sure that there is a revolution in punishment and deterrence.”
Janashvilli, surrounded by a mob, was pulled from his car and beaten with rocks, wooden planks and iron bars.
Bashir – found guilty of committing an act of terror and aggravated assault – threw a rock that hit Janashvilli’s car and broke one of the windows with a club with the intent of causing the victim serious injury, disability or disfigurement, all motivated by a nationalist ideology, the court said.
Janashvilli was ultimately saved by a male Arab nurse who came upon the scene, and was taken to the hospital with hemorrhaging, several broken bones and three disc herniations. He still uses a walker and has said that he has yet to fully recover psychologically from the attack.
Seven other men have been arrested in all for the attempted lynching so far and are awaiting trial.
In related news, the Tel Aviv District Court convicted two Arabs Sunday for a nationalistically motivated attack on an IDF soldier in Jaffa during last year’s riots. In a plea deal, Mohammed Iyash (23) and Ali Masry (20) admitted involvement in the incident in which a group of men threw a block at the 19-year-old’s head, breaking his skull and injuring him severely.
Masry was convicted of aggravated assault under special circumstances, and prosecutors intend to ask for a five-year jail sentence and a fine as well as compensation for the soldier.
Iyash was convicted of incitement to terrorism and violence, and the prosecution will request that he be imprisoned for 22 months and a fine.