'Israeli' tourist loses eye in Cyprus assault for speaking Hebrew

• An 'Israeli' tourist in Cyprus was brutally attacked at his hotel entrance, reportedly for speaking Hebrew, resulting in the loss of sight in one eye.
• The 'Israeli' consulate was unavailable during the weekend, leaving the victim without immediate official support after the assault.

An 'Israeli' man lost sight in one eye after being brutally attacked in Cyprus, reportedly after hearing him speaking on the phone in Hebrew, his father told 'Israel’s' Kan News.

The incident occurred on Friday at the entrance of a hotel in Limassol, where the victim was on a post-army trip. According to the father, a man approached the tourist, asked for a cigarette, and then attacked him. He was evacuated to a local hospital and later flown to 'Israel' on Sunday, where he underwent surgery, but doctors were unable to save his eyesight in the affected eye.

The 'Israeli' Foreign Ministry is reviewing the details of the case.

In a Facebook post, the father described the attack and the lack of immediate support: “My son was attacked at the entrance to a hotel in Cyprus, and everyone disappeared. He was violently beaten, injured in the head and face, and evacuated for medical treatment.”

He also criticized the 'Israeli' consulate for being unavailable during the weekend: “We contacted the relevant authorities, including the 'Israeli' consulate, and the response we received was: ‘Sunday, we’re on vacation.’ When an 'Israeli' citizen is injured abroad after a violent attack, the system is simply unavailable. There is no taking responsibility, no response, no sense of backing.”

The father said there were witnesses and medical documentation of the assault. “Such violence and such indifference cannot pass quietly,” he wrote.

The young man is currently hospitalized at Ichilov Hospital in 'Israel' following complex surgery aimed at saving his eye.