Koch Hit by Stone in Jerusalem on Visit Touting Safe Tourism
Former New York City Mayor Ed Koch was stoned by Palestinians today during a visit to show that Jerusalem’s Old City was safe for American tourists.
Koch, an outspoken supporter of Israel, was hit in the head by a fist-sized rock that ricocheted off a roof in the walled ancient city. He was slightly wounded.
“That can happen anywhere,” he told reporters. “It (the wound) isn’t serious.”
Koch was walking with Jerusalem Mayor Teddy Kollek without a police escort through the narrow streets of the Arab market where all stores were closed for a general strike.
Kollek has lambasted American Jewish tourists for avoiding Israel since the Persian Gulf crisis erupted last August and the three-year-old Palestinian revolt against Israeli rule in the occupied territories intensified.
Koch, who is Jewish, and Kollek were on their way to the Wailing Wall, Judaism’s holiest site inside the ancient city.
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