"I am afraid to leave the house": 76-year-old woman attacked in Ashkelon

Alina Levin, 76, from Ashkelon, has spoken out about a violent attack she endured while resting on a street bench. She suffered injuries to her hand and leg, requiring two days of hospitalization. Although police arrested a suspect shortly after the incident, Levin was unable to identify him during a lineup. Since the attack, she has been afraid to leave her home alone, deeply shaken by the indifference of passersby who ignored her cries for help. Her family noted that her husband was also a victim of a violent attack in the same neighborhood years ago, which resulted in the loss of his eye.

"I was sitting on the bench to rest and was on the phone with a friend. A man sat down next to me. I decided to leave, but he followed me. When I stopped, he approached and demanded in Russian: 'Give me money' and 'Give me back money'," Levin recounted.

After she told him she did not understand his demands, the man struck her forcefully in the ear. "I fell to the ground and shouted to my friend to call the police. The attacker tried to grab my phone, but fled when he heard me shouting 'police'," she said.

Unable to identify the suspect

Levin mentioned that while in the ambulance, she heard police had arrested someone for a separate violent incident nearby. However, during a photo lineup later, she could not identify the man as her attacker. "I asked the investigator how they were certain he was the one, but they told me not to worry," she explained.

"I no longer walk alone in the dark"

Since the attack, Levin’s life has been transformed by fear. "I am still suffering physically and mentally. I no longer walk alone after dark, and I am suspicious of everyone. It is terrifying to think the attacker is still free." She expressed particular distress over the reaction of bystanders: "I was lying on the ground, bleeding and pleading for help. A cyclist with two children passed by, and despite my pleas, he kept riding, nearly running me over. What has society come to?"

A history of violence in the area

Levin emphasized that this is not the first time her family has faced violence in the neighborhood. "My husband was attacked in the same area years ago. He was struck on the head with a stick, lost an eye, and has lived with a prosthetic ever since. The attacker was never caught. How is it possible that in such a central area, near the bus station and the mall, there is no surveillance footage to help catch these criminals?"

Her daughter, Tanya, added: "My mother is afraid to show her face because she fears further harm. It is heartbreaking to see more and more attacks against helpless elderly people."