(JTA) — A Belgian court convicted a man who intentionally drove his car into a group of Jews of intimidation but cleared him of attempted murder.

According to the Belga news agency, the court on Friday sentenced the 42-year-old man from Beveren to 12 months in jail and a $780 fine for driving his car while under the influence of alcohol into a group of Jews in Antwerp during the Passover holiday last year.

On April 12 2012, the man drove his car onto the sidewalk and into a group of five young Orthodox Jews, who jumped out of the way before he could hit them.

The man, who was not named in the Belga report and in other Belgian media, was charged with attempted murder but the judge determined he only wanted to “intimidate” the group.

Just before the incident, he made an obscene gesture at an Orthodox Jew he passed by on the street and cursed a number of other Jews, Belga reported.

The man’s lawyer said in court that he had “a serious drinking problem.”