A Couple of Guys Beat up 2 Gay Young Arabs at Jaffa Port, 1 Arrest

      

                

The Israel Police arrested a 16-year-old from the central Israeli city of Lod on Monday on suspicion that he took part in a violent attack on two young gay men in the Jaffa Port on Saturday. The suspect is being investigated for aggravated assault and committing a hate crime.
The police said they had obtained “grim video evidence of the brawl, which was even disseminated on the internet.” Police said that the court granted their request to extend the suspect’s detention until Thursday at noon, adding they are still investigating the assault and trying to locate other suspects.
In the video clip of the attack, two young men can be seen beating two others on a jetty. Another man tries to separate them and even throws one of the attackers into the water.Itzik Avneri, the owner of the ship next to where the attack took place, told Haaretz that he was a witness to the attack and tried to intervene. 
At first, the reason for the attack was unclear and the police thought it was a business altercation. But when Avneri gave his testimony, he said there was no doubt the attack was the result of homophobia. 

"I have a tour boat in the port, and there was the holiday [of Eid al-Adha] for the past few days when a lot of Muslims come to the port to have a good time and take a cruise,” said Avneri. “Two guys got on the boat to go sailing and when it ended, they got off and sat on the dock next to each other. Other people saw them and spat at them.” 
He said that he asked one of the passersby why he was spitting. "Because we're Arabs and they're gays, and there won't be gays among the Arabs, it gives Arabs a bad name," he answered.

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One of the victims said they were attacked after getting off the jetty, “and these two guys started making faces. They seemed violent and the boat owner didn’t want to let them on board… They started arguing with us, so we went to eat at the [nearby] Clock Square. While we were gone, they told the boat owner, ‘We don’t approve of gay Arabs, they’re an embarassment.’ They said they would beat me, and told him they’re looking for me.”
 
When they later returned “about 20 people jumped on me and started beating me. I took out pepper spray and sprayed the entire can, so they ran away. Then the owner came and started pushing them away, until only the two seen in the video were left."
“I pulled the victims out and put them into the private area of the port where the ships dock, because there is a fence there so I could protect them," recounts Avneri. "Two of the gang jumped over the fence and they began to hit and kick them.”