New testimony suggests that a Tel Aviv man, arrested for a single assault, may be responsible for several others, pointing to a possible serial attacker.
The second victim described an almost identical assault—same street, same method, and same brutality.
This raises an important question: why haven’t other attacks been added to the indictment? The answer seems to be that the victims couldn't identify the attacker. They were struck from behind, lost consciousness, and couldn’t give police a description. The method and location match, yet the suspect is only charged in one case so far.
Yehuda Fadlon, 25, was arrested after a brutal attack on Rashi Street in early July. Without warning, he hit a passerby, Alon, from behind, causing serious injuries. The victim was hospitalized for three days with a fractured skull and brain hemorrhage.
Since Walla first reported on the indictment, more evidence has surfaced linking Fadlon to other attacks, all following the same pattern, happening on the same street, and using the same method. However, these attacks have not been included in the indictment.
Victim testimony
One victim, Shlomi Rotenberg, 28, from Tel Aviv, shared his experience: "I didn’t see anything. I was just hit from behind, lost consciousness, and woke up on a stretcher on my way to Ichilov," he told Walla.
"I was hospitalized for four days with a brain hemorrhage, a broken jaw, blurry vision, and bruised ears. I didn’t even have time to file a complaint because I was in the hospital. The police came to take my statement later, while I was still hospitalized. They asked me to identify him, but how could I identify someone who attacked me from behind?"
Rotenberg expressed his frustration: "I found out that a week after he attacked me, Fadlon was arrested with blood on his shirt but was released—only to attack again. He was arrested once more after that. I don’t understand how something like this happens. As far as I’m concerned, this person is a danger to the public. I’m traumatized. I walk down the street, always looking over my shoulder. The fear never goes away."
Despite the troubling similarities in the victims' testimonies, the prosecution has only attributed one attack to Fadlon so far. The reason: a lack of conclusive evidence. In most cases, the attacker struck from behind, and the victims, like Rotenberg, lost consciousness, making it impossible for them to identify him.