Arab cabbie stabbed in suspected hate crime

An Arab cab driver was attacked in Jerusalem early Monday morning, reportedly by two Jewish youths whom he had picked up in his taxi.

The 50-year-old, a resident of the neighborhood of Beit Safafa in the capital, picked up the two in the center of town and was told to drive them to the neighborhood of Gilo.

On the way, they asked him to pull over to a side street to pick up their friends, and when the driver stopped, one of the two put a knife to his throat.

After a brief struggle, the victim was injured in his hand, and the two youths escaped on foot.

The driver was treated for his injuries at Shaare Zedek hospital and released.

Police have begun a search for the perpetrators and are treating the incident as a racial hate crime.