An Israeli traveler was violently attacked Monday night in Kathmandu by a group of local men who, he believes, targeted him after hearing him speak Hebrew. Almog Armoza, 25, said he was on his way to an Israeli hostel in the Nepalese capital when several attackers struck him from behind with a metal club.
“They hit me in the head with an iron rod,” Armoza said. “If I hadn’t managed to run, there’s a good chance I wouldn’t be alive today.”
Almog Armoza, after the brutal attack
Armoza said he is convinced the assault was motivated by nationalism. “They knew I was in the alley leading to the hostel, and they didn’t steal anything,” he said. “If the first blow had knocked me out, it could have ended differently.”
The attack took place about 150 meters from the hostel on a path frequently used by Israeli tourists. Armoza said he was recording a voice message in Hebrew when the assailants ambushed him. “At the end of the message, I felt a huge blow to my head,” he said. “They came from behind. There were a few seconds between the first hit and the second because they thought I would collapse. I turned around and saw three to five people. One grabbed my jacket and another hit me again, opening my head.”
Armoza managed to kick one attacker and fled toward the hostel. “They chased me, but when they saw I was getting close to the entrance, where there is security, they ran off,” he said.
He was taken to a hospital after alerting police. “I probably lost a liter of blood,” he said. “They stitched me up and did an MRI. The level of violence was meant to kill.”
Armoza, who lives near Gedera and works in marketing and imports, reiterated that he did not believe the attack was a robbery attempt. “My phone was in my hand and they didn’t go for it,” he said. “I have traveled the world for three years. This is not how robberies are done. They came only to beat someone. If I hadn’t escaped, I might not be here.”
He added that despite the incident, he does not want to cast Nepal in a negative light. “Nepalese people are generally very good,” he said. “I think this was a group of extremists.”
Rabbi Chezky Lifshitz, Chabad’s emissary in Kathmandu, accompanied Armoza at the hospital. “It’s not yet clear what the motive was,” he said. “Logic suggests it may have been nationalistic because he was attacked from behind without provocation. It was an organized assault, and they were equipped. We expect to know more as the day goes on. The area is covered with cameras.”
Because of his hospitalization, Armoza missed his flight back to Israel and is waiting for his insurance provider to arrange a new ticket.