Here are some facts, true stories about judicial cruelty that happened just a few years ago.
Report on Civil Rights Violations
Israeli Government Violations of Disengagement Opponents’ Civil RightsThe 50 page report is authored by Dr. Yitzhak Klein, director of The Israel Policy Center; Shmuel Meidad, founder and director of Honenu, and attorney Itzhak Baum. It can be downloaded.
7 comments:
i typed part of a message and then it disappeared. so i will start again.
i have just completed a novel about the Disengagement. my fictional characters interact with fictional Honenu characters. i used their documentation to duplicate real scenes with my characters.
two weeks from tonight i am planning to launch my book at the Gush Katif Museum in Yerushalaim. i would be pleased to host Batya Musings contributors and readers.
aliza karp
Not to take away from your point, Batya, but my biggest frustration is that every time civil rights are violated in Israel, most people's outrage is entirely selective depending on what political/religious/ethnic sector is on the receiving end.
My observation has been that the left doesn't care about the right's rights when they're getting beat up or locked up, and ditto for the right when it's Arabs or lefties.
Example: the Israeli right got good and mad when people heard about Mafdal MKs getting attacked at Amona. But how many of them do you think were honestly bothered when Mohammed Barakeh was hit by a stun grenade the year before?
From where I'm sitting, it looks like Israel needs a comprehensive, apolitical advocacy group or protest movement focusing on civil rights violations by the government and holding them accountable. But people seem more concerned with promoting their pet causes and don't seem to care about the police/army overstepping their bounds as long as they're stepping on someone else.
Of course, you're the one on the ground. How do you see things?
Aliza, how exciting. Please send me the book for review and information about the book launch! Good luck!
Friar Yid, Arab terrorists are held under better conditions than these young teenagers got. And where were the international and domestic civil/human rights groups?
Batya- That's my point; no one seems interested in trying to hold the government to one consistent standard for Arabs and Jews. Instead you have fractured advocacy groups that raise hell when abuses happen to their constituency (Btselem, for instance, and Honenu) and ignore it when it isn't their ox being gored.
It's a shame, because as an outside observer, I agree that there are definitely cases where the government, police, etc, are not acting as they should... but when the human rights groups are politically motivated, it's hard to take any of them seriously... which helps give the government another free pass.
My thought? I don't think the government should be in the business of beating people or holding them without cause or charge. And I feel that way regardless of who the target is. It's hard to tell how many people in Israel these days-- left or right-- would agree with that statement. And that's both sad and scary.
Friar, for decades the Leftist groups ignored all abuse against the Right, so Honenu came into being to fill the vacuum, correct that injustice. Please try complaining to Betzelem and their fellow travellers.
Aliza - Congrats on the publication of your book! What's the title? Who's the publisher? Where can one get a hold of the book? Please also post date and time of your book launch.
Yes, Aliza, details please
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