Testimony: Dozens assault two residents of East Jerusalem on pedestrian mall in West Jerusalem, 17 October 2008
Majdi al-Husseini, Computer programmer
Last Saturday [17 October], around 11:00 P.M., after we finished work, my cousin Khaled and I decided to go and have supper at the Meatburger Restaurant on Hillel Street, in West Jerusalem. We wanted to get something different to eat than what we serve, and the owner of the restaurant is a friend and customer of ours.
After we finished eating, we headed to Ben Yehuda Street to get some ice cream. We also wanted to ask the owner of the ice cream shop which factory manufactured the awning outside it, so we could order one for our restaurant.
Just as were approaching the shop, a large group of young Jewish men blocked our way. One of them, who was short and had fair skin, came over to me and asked what time it was. I said, “I don’t know.” Then Khaled told him it was ten past midnight. The guy slapped me and said, “Why don’t you answer me? You have a watch.” Then the others jumped on me and Khaled and started beating us. They slapped and kicked me all over my body. They had clubs with them, which they used to hit me, and sprayed gas in my face. When I tried to run away, they chased me and continued beating me. I didn't notice where I was running until I got to a blocked street. One of the guys chasing me sprayed a lot of gas in my face and I fell down. They beat and kicked me all over my body while I tried to get up. Finally, I managed to get up, and ran away from them.
They chased me, shouting: “Arab, Arab!” Some other people, who were on the street or sitting in a cafe, joined in and beat me too. One man was sitting, drinking a beer. He poured his beer on my face and clothes. Another man, who looked thirty-something, got up from his chair when I approached. I thought he wanted to help and rescue me from the guys chasing me, but he grabbed me and held me while they sprayed gas in my face. I fell and they gathered around and kicked me all over my body. My whole body hurt, and I felt as if I couldn’t breathe.
I tried to get away from them and their clubs. After a few minutes, I managed to get up and ran toward Hillel Street. On Hillel Street, I saw a woman. I was afraid she wanted to hit me too. My vision was blurred. When I reached her, I realized she was a policewoman, and I thought I would finally be saved. The people were still chasing me. I was so exhausted and in such pain that I fell down. A policeman told me, “What are you doing here? Go to your home!” He treated me as if I was the criminal, and not the victim. I didn’t respond and stayed lying there on the ground. I felt I was about to faint, and I vomited.
Lots of people gathered around me, and the policeman grabbed me under my shoulders, pulled me violently across the road, and dropped me on the sidewalk. Somebody tried to give me first aid. He checked me and I heard him call an ambulance.
20-30 later, an ambulance arrived. The paramedic who got out of the ambulance hit me hard in the shoulder. The pain was excruciating, like the pain I felt when the guys beat me. When he examined me, he hit me in different parts of my body. Khaled tried to object to the painful examination, and I heard him ask: “Is that a way to examine someone?” After the paramedic checked me for a few minutes, he brought a stretcher that was folded and looked like a chair. He grabbed me and threw me onto it, with my face in the direction of the backrest. He violently pressed down the backrest, so I was lying on my stomach. He put me into the ambulance, pulled my hands behind me and fastened them to my back with the belt [of the stretcher]. My face was squashed into the stretcher, and I felt as if I was choking, especially when he continued to check me so aggressively and painfully. I felt that the ambulance crew was laughing at me.
They took me to the emergency room at Sha’arei Tzedek Hospital. I waited two hours before I was examined. They took X-rays and a CT. I was discharged in the afternoon and went home. I am still in pain, and haven’t been able to work since then.
Majdi Ibrahim Musa al-Husseini is a acomputer programmer and a resident of the Old City in East Jerusalem. His testimony was given to Kareem Jubran on 22 October 2008 at the Sharizar Restaurant in East Jerusalem.