EXCLUSIVE: Son of ex-Israeli cabinet secretary who attacked NYC restaurant owner with glass judge is seen in court for the first time since getting $25,000 bail

The son of a former Israeli cabinet official appeared in court following his controversial release on $25,000 bail while facing attempted murder charges.

Jounathan Maimon, 24, appeared stone-faced at a hearing on Friday, days after his alleged victim, Maor Vanunu, 42, dismissed his release from custody as ‘a joke’.

Vanunu, a restaurant owner in Manhattan, suffered a brain hemorrhage and lacerations when he was randomly attacked in February. Prosecutors allege that Maimom repeatedly hit him on the head with a 1.75 liter glass jug.

Maimon says he was drugged and does not remember the alleged attack, but Vanunu noted that his father was “well connected” as he feels the judge who recently released the 24-year-old “helped (the suspect) a lot” .

Speaking to DailyMail.com on Tuesday, he said a phone call he had two weeks ago with the Manhattan district attorney’s office made him feel “like he’s getting ready for a deal.”

Maor Vanunu, 42, and his family have alleged that Maimon received preferential treatment due to his family’s connections

The 24-year-old allegedly assaulted a restaurant owner in Manhattan with a glass jug

Maimon was controversially released on $25,000 bail, which his alleged victim dismissed as ‘a joke’

The February 26 attack was seen on shocking surveillance footage, starting with Vanunu waiting at a traffic light at an intersection in New York City’s Soho neighborhood.

Maimon reportedly spent the night at the Gospel nightclub, but was kicked out when he got into a fight with a woman. Vanunu claims Maimon returned with the jug afterwards, saying the Israeli was “trying to get back to the woman” when he and his friends left the club after 3am.

While waiting at an intersection, Vanunu was struck in the back of the head with a vicious, random blow, sending him sprawling to the ground.

The assailant continued the brutal attack as he hit Vanunu twice more on the head and four more times between the shoulders as the restaurateur remained motionless.

Vanunu was able to flee the scene, but only when the relentless beating stopped after the glass jug was shattered.

A shirtless Maimon was also seen in footage released by police strolling down the street with a large glass bottle on the night of the incident. He is also accused of using the same jug to smash the window of a passing Uber just before Vanunu was hit.

Vanunu says the attack left him with permanent memory and hearing loss months later.

Maimon is pictured outside the Gospel nightclub on Feb. 26 with a glass jug, which police say attacked Vanunu

Video of the scene shows a man, who police believe is Maimon, approaching and assaulting Vanunu as the 42-year-old waited at a traffic light

Despite the vicious nature of the crime he is accused of, the judge in his case sparked anger after setting bail at just $25,000.

Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com on Tuesday, Vanunu claimed that the New York City judge overseeing the criminal case “helped (the defendant) a lot.”

Maimon’s father is Israel Maimon, the former cabinet secretary of Israel and the former head of Israel Bonds

He noted that Maimon’s father, Israel Maimon, Israel’s former cabinet secretary and former head of Israel Bonds, is “well connected” and Maimon was able to hire “really high-quality lawyers.”

Vanunu said he’s convinced officials have lost interest in pursuing his case, saying a phone call with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office two weeks ago “felt like he was getting ready for a deal.”

He suggested that awake District Attorney Alvin Bragg “wants to close the case as soon as possible; he doesn’t care about the case anymore.’

However, Maimon’s attorney, Jeffrey Lichtman, told DailyMail.com that his client has never received preferential treatment and said his senior family is irrelevant to the case.

“It’s ridiculous to suggest that his family is involved,” said Lichtman. “It’s insulting to the family and it’s insulting to the defense.”

Lichtman also previously stated that he is working to lower Maimon’s attempted murder charges to aggravated assault, telling the New York Post, “There was never an attempt to kill anyone here.”

A spokesman for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said: “We treat all acts of violence with incredible seriousness and continue to conduct a rigorous and thorough investigation into this matter.”

Israel Maimon is pictured with actor Jason Alexander in 2017. He asked Israel’s former Consul General in New York, Asaf Zamir, to write a character witness for his son in a civil case

In addition to the criminal charges brought against him, Maimon is also being sued by Vanunu in a civil case, in which Israel’s former consul general in New York, Asaf Zamir, wrote a character witness for Maimon, according to Y-Net News.

Zamir did not serve as Maimon’s supervisor at the consulate where he worked, and acted in violation of State Department guidelines that state that an Israeli representative cannot interfere in the legal process of a foreign country.

But Zamir and Maimon’s father have a close working relationship and reportedly responded to Israel’s request to submit the letter to the court.

When Vanunu heard the letter, he said, “If a serving consul supports a person who tried to kill, it is an embarrassment to the State of Israel and an embarrassment to all of us.”

Maimon has been granted leave from his position at the consulate “until the legal situation is clarified.”