In riots that are being labeled a ‘lynch’, a mob of Arabs violently attacked Jews at the Tomb of Samuel the Prophet on Friday afternoon.

Present at the attack were members of the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI). Reports from the scene claimed that the EAPPI has been providing transportation and paying Arabs to protest at the site. There was even a report that the EAPPI paid the Arabs after they attacked the Jews.

On Friday afternoon, two Jewish men arrived at the Tomb of Samuel located about five miles from Jerusalem. The men began waving Israeli flags and a group of Arabs carrying Palestinian flags attacked the men, knocking one to the ground and beating him. When the police arrived, the Arabs attacked them as well.

The victim was lightly wounded and refused hospitalization. Several witnesses described the incident as an attempted lynching. The attack was carried out to the cries of “Allahu Akhbar” (Allah is greater) and “’itbah Al-Yahud”(Kill the Jew).’

The incident was serious enough to elicit a response from the opposition leader, Benjamin Netanyahu:

 “National honor is not a voluntary matter, and it’s absence will cost lives,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “The scene at the Tomb of Samuel the Prophet is shocking – dozens of Arabs attacking a young Jewish man, throwing him to the sidewalk and beating him, in front of police officers.”

“To the Israeli government – national honor is not a luxury. No matter what the positions of your partners towards violence against Jews, it is needed immediately.”

On Saturday, the Israeli police arrested five Arabs suspected of carrying out the attack. 

EAPPI personnel were present at the protest that preceded the attack and remained present throughout the attack, filming the incident with cell phones. 

בטח תופתעו לגלות שהאיחוד האירופי משלם למפגינים בקבר שמואל בחודש וחצי האחרון.
יש לנו תיעוד משבוע שעבר שבסוף ההפגנה מארגן הפגנה מחלק 200 ש”ח למפגינים שהגיעו בטרנזיט מאורגן.
אחרי ההפגנה הם זכו להסעה שלקחה אותם לבריכת שחיה ביריחו. pic.twitter.com/WSinIBRgMb

— מורנו (@Efraim_Moreno) August 27, 2022

Efraim Moreno, who runs the site for the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, was at the incident. He claims that the Arab protesters have been arriving at the site every Friday for the last six weeks in prearranged transportation and are each paid 200 NIS by EAPPI personnel. Moreno also witnessed this payment being carried out after the attack on Friday, after which, the demonstrators boarded a shuttle that took them to a swimming pool in Jericho.

In an interview with ILTV, Moreno described the attack:

“Many of these Arabs live in the area,” Moreno said. “To see people who you deal with every day as neighbors, that you live with in synergy, to see them with blood in their eyes, it was a shocking situation. I sat at home on Shabbat, paralyzed from what I saw.”

Moreno, who has run the site for six years, said that the situation was extreme and unprecedented. He noted that 40,000 visitors came to the site in the past month and in the upcoming month, this are expected an additional 100,000 visitors. 

NGO Monitor described EAPPI:

Despite marketing itself as human rights and protection program, EAPPI places significant emphasis on political advocacy before, during, and after the trip. When the volunteers return to their home countries and churches, they engage in anti-Israel advocacy such as BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanctions) campaigns and comparing Israel to apartheid South Africa and Nazi Germany. 

EAPPI is not a registered organization in Israel or abroad. The program brings international activists to the West Bank through the use of tourist visas.

The WCC’s EAPPI program consists of a “continuous presence of 25-30 Ecumenical Accompaniers on the ground, for periods of three months in accompanying, offering protective presence, and witness… monitoring and reporting human rights abuses… standing with local peace and human rights groups…and advocacy.” Often, however, these activities instigate confrontations with Israeli settlers and the Israeli army.

A video posted to Twitter showed MK Ofer Cassif, the only Jewish member of the Joint Arab List, speaking to the Arab protesters moments before the attack at the Tomb of Samuel last week.

רגע לפני שערבים ביצעו לינץ’ ביהודים בקבר שמואל הנביא, ח”כ כסיף משלהב את הערבים: “נמשיך במאבק נגד הכיבוש ונגד המלוכלכים האלה וביחד ננצח” pic.twitter.com/tc8Mfr21nq

— חזקי ברוך (@HezkeiB) August 26, 2022

“We will continue the fight against the occupation and against these filthy people and together we will win,” Cassif said.

Cassif has participated in violent protests in the past. After one such protest last year, he was quoted as saying, “I object to the ideology and practice of Zionism… it’s a racist ideology and practice which espouses Jewish supremacy.” Kasif identifies as a Marxist and a socialist.

It should be noted that a community of Yemenite Jews was established adjacent to the Tomb of Samuel in 1890. The village had to be abandoned during the 1929 riots when the Arab neighbors destroyed the houses and removed the border stones. Today’s Ramot neighborhood stands in the same area.