Jerusalem mayor applauded for tackling knife attacker

Michele Chabin and Jane Onyanga-Omara, USA TODAY 12:55 p.m. EST February 23, 2015

Surveillance video shows Nir Barkat, the mayor of Jerusalem, and his bodyguard stop a knife assault on a man. They wrestled the attacker to the ground and held him until police arrived. VPC

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat and his bodyguard came to the aid of a man being attacked.(Photo: Abir Sultan, European Pressphoto Agency)

JERUSALEM — Mayor Nir Barkat earned plaudits Monday — and even won comparisons to a superhero — for his courage in helping to apprehend a man who stabbed and wounded an Israeli in the street.

Video footage showed Barkat, 55, and his bodyguard wrestling the attacker to the ground in Tzahal Square on Sunday, and then helping the victim, who was described as an ultra-Orthodox Jewish man in his 20s. The attack took place near the Old City, a major tourist destination.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said on Twitter that the suspect was arrested at the scene. The victim was taken to a hospital with moderate injuries, he said.

The Times of Israel reported that the suspect is an 18-year-old Palestinian who was living in Israel illegally.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Barkat and his bodyguard Monday for their courage.

Israelis took to social media to commend Jerusalem's mayor. Images of Barkat dressed as Batman and other superheroes also appeared.

Speaking to Israel's Channel 2, Barkat said he had acted instinctively. "It was clear that the assailant was not going to attack me," he said. "If he had kept on trying to stab people, he would have been killed."

This was not the first time Barkat had helped victims of a terror attack in Jerusalem. Eleven years ago, the mayor helped evacuate people from a bus that was targeted by terrorists, providing first aid and saving a woman's life, the Jerusalem Post reported.

Barkat, who has been mayor since 2008, founded BRM, an anti-virus software company that has made him a multi-millionaire. On Monday, he urged residents and visitors to maintain their normal routines and to not give in to fear.

"Terror will not frighten us. When you look at the statistics, Jerusalem is one of the safest places in the world, safer than New York, London, Paris," he said.

City resident Arnie Draiman, said "it is an unfortunate reality of day-to-day life in Israel is that everyone — from mayor to simple citizen — has to be ready to react to Palestinian terror in a split second, whether on the street, on a bus, or in a pizza parlor."

Perry Zameck, another resident, said Barkat displayed "hands-on leadership," adding: "That's what this city has needed to get it going in the right direction."

The victim, identified as Avraham Goldstein, said he was on his way to a wedding when he was attacked, Israel Hayom reported.

"I turned and saw him standing with a knife in his hand. I immediately realized this was a stabbing attack," Goldstein said, according to the newspaper. "I shouted and I hit him with the tefillin I had in a bag. He came at me again to stab me and I then ran into the crosswalk and called out for anyone with a weapon to neutralize him." (Tefillin are small leather boxes that are worn by observant Jewish men during morning services.)

Rosenfeld said extra security patrols were added in and around the center of Jerusalem.

Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1EHSYCU

USA NOW

Watch what happened off-camera at the Oscars

Feb 23, 2015

0) { %>

]]>