Hours after the arrest of a man suspected of the unprovoked attack of a yeshivah bochur in Tel Aviv on Friday, the police classified the incident as a random criminal attack rather than a hate crime.

Police sources who spoke with the suspect, a 26-year-old Jew from Pardes Chana, told Kan News that he didn’t seem a hundred percent coherent. The suspect’s medical/psychological background is being examined and he may be sent for an evaluation.

The suspect said during his interrogation: “I suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. I was sure they were trying to attack me and that’s why I reacted like that. I didn’t want to hurt him and I had no intention to do so. It wasn’t because he’s Chareidi. I didn’t mean to and I apologize.”

The B’Tzalmo legal aid organization, which is representing Levi Blau, the bochur who was attacked, submitted a request to Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara to instruct the police to classify the attack as a hate crime.

“Despite the fact that it is clear to everyone that this was a hate crime and my client was attacked solely because he is Chareidi, the police refused to accept this claim and it was classified as a general assault only,” the letter stated. “There is a significant difference in the management of a case of a general assault versus a racially-motivated assault, both in the allocation of resources and in the filing of an indictment, and of course the severity of the punishment – which is doubled in the case of a hate crime and a racially motivated crime.”

“I thank you for your effort in clarifying to Israel Police that they should classify this incident as a racist incident and not just an assault case.”

The police stated on Tuesday: “A complaint was filed and it is being investigated. This morning a suspect of Jewish origin was arrested and transferred to the police station for questioning. The background is criminal and there is no suspicion of a racist motive.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)