A teacher was assaulted on Yefet Street in Jaffa by an unidentified assailant on Thursday evening.
According to initial reports, the incident occurred shortly before 7 p.m., when Rabbi Netanel Avitan, 51, a teacher at the Shirat Moshe Hesder Yeshiva in Jaffa, was walking to his car. The attacker allegedly struck him while shouting insults in Arabic, breaking the rabbi’s glasses before fleeing the scene.
Magen David Adom paramedics treated Avitan at the scene and evacuated him to Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv. He is receiving treatment for facial wounds and reported headaches. His condition was described as stable.
Police have opened an investigation and are examining the circumstances surrounding the incident. No suspects have been arrested.
Avitan has lived in Jaffa for more than a decade and is regarded as a well-known figure in the local community. The incident has caused shock among residents.
“This attack undermines the basic sense of security,” a local community member told reporters. “To be assaulted in the middle of the street, without provocation, is deeply disturbing.”
Rabbi Eliyahu Mali, head of the Meirim educational institutions in Jaffa, told Walla that Avitan was in pain and undergoing medical tests. “His entire face is swollen,” he said.
'Where is the condemnation now?'
Mali criticized the municipality’s silence following the attack. “Two weeks ago, officials condemned the assault of a pregnant woman. Where is the condemnation now?” he asked. “Residents, especially elderly ones, are afraid to leave their homes in the early evening. This is a failure of public security.”
Avitan, a reservist who served in Gaza, has filed a complaint with the police. Mali urged authorities to act swiftly.
“Anyone who terrorizes civilians is a terrorist,” he said. “It is inconceivable that in central Israel, Jews cannot walk freely. The government must act to restore order and security in Jaffa.”