Jerusalem – Christian Arab Man Sentenced To 9 Years For 2015 Stabbing Of Two Orthodox Minors

Jerusalem – The Jerusalem District Court has sentenced 21-year-old John Kakish, a resident of Jerusalem, to nine years in prison for stabbing two Jewish ultra-Orthodox minors in May, 2015.

Justice Raphael Carmel previously found Kakish guilty on two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and today pronounced the stabber’s sentence for what both the court and district attorney concluded to be a “hate crime.” Additionally, the court ordered Kakish to compensate each of his victims with NIS 10,000 (USD 2,650).

“The accused was a known juvenile delinquent from a difficult family background, he suffers from mental disability and has serious impulse control issues. All this is aggravated by the fact that he tends to abuse alcohol,” Carmel wrote. “Hence, I believe he still poses a moderate threat to society and I am sentencing him accordingly.”

Kakish is an Israeli citizen and a Christian Arab. On the night of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot in 2015, he bought a 30 cm kitchen knife in the Damascus Gate market in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City and waited along the street leading to the Western Wall until a group of ultra-Orthodox teens passed by. Kakish attacked the group and managed to stab two teenagers before feeling the scene.

The entire incident was caught on the Jerusalem District Police’s security cameras in the Old City, a fact which allowed the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) to identify and locate Kakish. According to the Shin Bet, Kakish confessed to the crime during questioning and told investigators that he was motivated by violence and racism he experienced in the Old City from ultra-Orthodox Jews.

“While he plead guilty to the charges made against him and confessed to his crime, he does not seem to take responsibility for his actions and insists that he is the victim,” Carmel wrote.