Charges filed against Jewish man who assaulted, robbed Arab bus driver

Police prosecutors have filed charges against a Jewish resident of Jerusalem accused of beating and robbing an Arab bus driver last month.

The suspect, a young man in his 20s, was filmed by the bus security camera attacking driver Ahmad Shehadeh the night of July 15, while he was working an overnight route in the city’s Neve Yaakov neighborhood.

The defendant faces assault charges filed today by the Israel Police’s prosecution unit, after a weeks-long probe into the brutal beating. He is accused of attacking Shehadeh, as well as a police officer who tried to detain him later that night, law enforcement says.

Another individual who allegedly came up behind Shehadeh and choked him as the defendant battered him with his fists and smartphone has not been indicted. This is likely due to a lack of video evidence proving his involvement.

Shehadeh was taken to the hospital after bolting the bus to get away from his attackers, who he says also stole his phone. He received stitches under his left eye, and his right eyeball was ruptured.

“My eyes bled a lot, and I wasn’t able to see,” Shehadeh said at the time to Channel 13. “I had never experienced anything like this in my life.”

The Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court released the defendant to house arrest in late July following the attack. The Jerusalem District Court rejected the prosecution’s appeal against the move, citing the fact that Shehadeh struck back in self-defense at his assailant.

Today’s indictment is a rare instance of legal action being taken against perpetrators of violence against bus drivers in the capital, an increasingly common phenomenon in recent months, according to the Bus Drivers’ Association.

Many of the attacks are explicitly racially motivated, with assailants shouting “Death to Arabs” and other anti-Arab curses.