Brutally attacked by classmates, hospitalized - and will be compensated with hundreds of thousands of shekels

A middle school student who was attacked by his classmates during the lunch break will be compensated with 420 thousand shekels, it was learned today, Monday. The boys beat the student, who was 13 at the time, stripped him, and threatened him when he approached to get food from his bag. The trauma led to a series of physical and mental injuries.

The incident occurred about four years ago. The lawsuit reveals that the students attacked the boy on all parts of his body. Because there was a shelter door in the classroom without a handle, he tried to escape towards the door, but they caught him there. The students twisted his arms behind his back and began to attack him while covering his eyes. One of the students brought tape from his bag and taped it over his mouth and nose.

After that, the boys stripped him and began to attack him again. They knocked the boy to the floor, lifted him up, and continued to attack him. Then, the students dragged him towards the door to take him to a dangerous place, saying, "Now you will see where we are taking you." As they were leaving the classroom, an intern teacher saw them, distanced them from him, and rushed him to the teachers' room. After the incident, a complaint was filed with the police.

The municipality claimed that it was a "prank," and the Ministry of Education appealed the reliability of the report. The attack occurred while the homeroom teacher was in the hallway adjacent to the classroom. Following the incident, the boy was hospitalized for five days at Laniado Hospital and suffered from limping, anxiety, crying spells, bedwetting, and even thoughts of self-harm, which reached the point of pulling out hair and cutting his clothes.

The lawsuit was filed through the student's parents against the State of Israel (Ministry of Education), "Inbal" (the internal state insurance fund), Ayalon Insurance Company, and the municipality in the north within whose jurisdiction the school is located.

Advocate Wasim Omar, who represented the student, argued that the incident stemmed from a lack of proper supervision by the educational staff. On the other hand, the municipality claimed it was a "prank" that the teacher stopped immediately, and that it had no legal connection to the incident as the staff is employed by the Ministry of Education. The insurance company "Inbal" contested the medical documentation and the amount claimed.

Both parties recently reached a compromise agreement, according to which the Ministry of Education will pay nearly 300 thousand shekels, while the municipality will pay about 120 thousand shekels. "We are happy that the process ended with a result that recognizes the severity of the injury caused to our son," his parents stated. Advocate Omar concluded: "This case illustrates once again that the duty of supervision over students is not a technical matter, but a real responsibility for their well-being and safety."