Image by Getty Images

An Israeli policeman was charged on Wednesday with assault causing bodily harm against a 15-year-old American of Palestinian descent during a protest over the revenge killing of the teenager’s cousin days before the eight week war with Gaza.

The indictment submitted to a Jerusalem court charged the policeman with grabbing the youth and throwing him to the ground, and subsequently pummeling him and dragging him with help from other officers in the course of his arrest.

The U.S. State Department at the time urged a “speedy, transparent and credible investigation and full accountability for any excessive use of force” against the American teen, a video of whose arrest was circulated on the Internet.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The protests had erupted after the torching to death of the high school student’s cousin, Mohammed Abu Khudeir, 16. Three Israelis have been charged with the murder, said to have been done as revenge for the killings of three Israeli teens in June.

The two-page indictment did not identify the teenager, but a Justice Ministry official confirmed it concerned Tariq Khdeir of Tampa, Florida, whose encounter with police stoked Arab-Israeli tension before the conflict erupted.

Police said at the time Khdeir was one of six protesters detained during the clashes in East Jerusalem.

Israel has since released him and he returned to Florida in mid-July.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount