Israeli convicted of assault for spitting at Polish ambassador
Arik Lederman, 65, accepted a plea deal that dropped a charge of threatening envoy Marek Magierowski, but admitted targeting him in Tel Aviv
An Israeli man was convicted of assault for spitting at the Polish ambassador to Israel.
Arik Lederman, 65, accepted a plea deal that dropped the charge of threatening the ambassador, Marek Magierowski, in the May incident, The Times of Israel reported.
Lederman, of Herzliya, stood in the middle of a Tel Aviv road to block the ambassador’s car from moving, slammed his fist on the roof and then opened the door and spit twice on Magierowski.
Lederman claimed that he did not know that the ambassador was in the car, only that it had Polish diplomatic plates. He said the car honked at him for blocking the road, which angered him.
He apologised days later at a court hearing, saying that his family suffered during the Holocaust and he was at the embassy to inquire about recovering property abandoned during the Holocaust. Lederman said the embassy guard called him a Jewish slur in Polish – “zydek,” meaning “yid” or “little Jew” — and he was upset when he came across the car with Polish diplomat plates on the street.
The incident occurred days after Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki declared that his government would not pay compensation for property lost during Second World War since, he said, Poles were the war’s major victim.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
