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Threatened by Arabs, Jewish Israeli arrested for brandishing toy gun in self-defense

Israeli police arrest a Jewish man who said he brandished a toy gun while he and his son were threatened by knife-wielding Arabs.

By World Israel News Staff

A Jewish man who was threatened by Arabs in a forest in central Israel was arrested two weeks ago, Arutz-7 reported Tuesday evening.

The man and his son were taking photos of the area in a Jewish National Fund forest near the city of Rosh Haayin, where they live, when a group of Arabs surrounded them and threatened them with a knife, the report said. The two were making plans for an event for children with special needs.

According to the man’s testimony, during the incident he suddenly recalled that he had a toy gun in the back seat of the car and managed to retrieve it. When he brandished the pistol, the gang retreated.

Immediately afterwards, he said, he called police.

Police arrived at his home several hours later, the report continues, but instead of collecting testimony, they took him away for questioning.

The man’s attorney, Haim Bleicher of the Honenu organization, appealed to the Central District Police Chief to apprehend the Arab attackers and to delete his client’s criminal record, the Arutz-7 report continues. But to no avail.

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“My client planned to hold a party for children with special needs in this park, and he went with his 13-year-old son to inspect the area,” Bleicher wrote in his appeal.

“My client was standing next to his vehicle and taking pictures when suddenly, members of a minority group began to gather around him in a threatening manner, shouting at him and demanding to know why he was taking pictures.

“The man told the Arabs why he was there but he only received more threats in response. The gang managed to distance him from his vehicle, warning him that ‘You [Jews] have nothing to look for here.’

“A woman, part of the gang, then drew out a knife and approached the two, shouting, ‘We are Bedouins, and we will slaughter you.’”

“When my client was later detained, despite repeating the threatening incident with the knife to police, police investigating the incident accused my client of lying based on the fact that he did not call police while the attack was in progress,” Bleicher continued, as quoted by Arutz-7.

“My client explained that he had called police immediately afterward and produced his phone’s call log as proof. The investigator then claimed that my client had called and hung up immediately…

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“Only after my client showed him a repeat message after the call and after his phone was taken for inspection did the police announce that his report to the 100 hotline had been located.”

The man was fingerprinted and forced to sign a large financial guarantee, the report said.

“The injustice arising from the sequence of events should not be underestimated,” Bleicher stated, according to Arutz-7. “This was a serious incident in which a family encountered violent and dangerous members from a minority population who threatened my client’s life.

“Nonetheless, it was my client who was detained as if he had been the criminal in the case, even though he had been acting in self-defense. This police response deprives citizens of any possibility of attempting self-defense.”