Muslim man tried to kill Jewish man aboad Ethiopian jet

A Muslim man has been detained for choking a Jewish passenger on a flight to Ethiopia and urging others to lynch him after discovering the man was Israeli. The Sudanese attacker realised he was seated behind the Jewish passenger about 30 minutes before the Ethiopian Airlines flight landed in Addis Ababa, on Thursday last week.

He then allegedly lashed out at him - striking him with a metal food tray and screaming 'Allah Akbar' and 'slaughter the Jew'.


The victim, named as 54-year-old Arik, told Ynet: 'He hit me over the head with a metal tray and shouted "Allah akbar" and "I will slaughter the Jew. Only after a few seconds, just before I was about to lose consciousness, did I manage to call out and a flight attendant who saw what was happening summoned her colleagues.'

Aside from the staff on board the Chad to Ethiopia flight, the only other person who came to his aid was a Lebanese passenger.

He said once they overpowered the attacker, Arik was sheltered at the rear of the plane while his attacker was guarded.

However, he said his Sudanese Muslim attacker even tried to convince the rest of the passengers to help 'finish him off'.

According to Haaretz, an Ethiopian Airlines spokesperson said the attacker showed no signs of violence when boarding the flight in Chad.

'He didn't only attack the Israeli passenger, but other passengers and crew members as well.'