22 Av 5782 | כ"ב אב ה'תשפ"ב
Part 1 | Part 2
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| Source. Is Lady Justice unblinded in Israel...? |
*UPDATE BELOW*
If you are Israeli and live in Israel, I have a couple of questions for you:
1. Did you know that we've been living under emergency measures since 1948?
The emergency measures I'm referring to are described in a paper written and published in the United States, called "Israel's Forty-Five Year Emergency: Are There Time Limits to Derogations from Human Rights Obligations?" (1994)
You can download it for free HERE.
The emergency measures issue is a much bigger topic than I can cover now. But here's what I understand of it:
In post-2000 Israel, these measures have the following unexpected effects, among others:
a. Justify acting in ways that are ordinarily unacceptable, such as looking for scapegoats in evil, as well as good where it may not exist, in real life between Jews and Arabs.
b. Put the most powerful forces at the service of the government (including the Knesset and the High/Supreme Court) in inappropriate ways: army, police, media, education, medicine and more.
2. Have you heard that the Israeli government revoked these measures?
Chances are, you haven't. Neither have I.
It may seem as though the normal in Israel as a result of these measures is because of our unique situation. In fact, it is unique in at least these ways:
a. We are really being attacked almost constantly because we are the Jewish state, from around the world and, to our shock and surprise, from within.
b. Our enemies have been complaining all over the world that we don't give them normal rights. This includes the right to buy property near all-Jewish towns and city neighborhoods. But then, why can't we buy property (land plus what is built on it) in places where we have thousands of years of history? And why do our enemies kill those among them who sell land to us? And why does it seem to me that our government doesn't protect those among them who sell us land that actually belongs to us? And, for that matter, why do we have so many responsibilities towards others who live here, and the rest of the world, and almost no rights of our own to go with them?
c. Our government feels obligated to conform to world norms even though it might just end up with us all dead. This includes acting more responsibly toward others who live among us than among the Jewish people for whom the nation was created (what other nation on earth should have more obligation towards Jews than Israel? And, yes, the rest of the world considers Jews to be the lowest on earth.), finding Jews belonging to the "wrong" group and making them out to be as bad as the Arabs that cause a lot of the problems, or equalizing the evil. Do we have an "arrest incentive program" (see the comments on the link) or something?
See below for an example. Have we forgotten a young father in prison for a confession under torture for nearly 7 years?
I attended a Zoom meeting recently concerning Amiram Ben Uliel, the young father in question. Readers may remember him as the one who was accused of burning down a house in the Arab village of Duma, killing a baby and his parents in 2015. Aviram was also convicted, as I found out during this meeting, after he had been interrogated for seventeen (17) days straight and endured torture after that, when he didn't break. We were told that after all that, Amiram had dissociated emotionally from his surroundings, accounting for the impression that he had willingly confessed before the trial.
It is estimated that there is over 75% chance that he sustained C-PTSD from this experience. I can't imagine it would have got any better during his time in prison.
Furthermore, even though he had a lawyer, they were not allowed to meet and discuss the case beforehand.
Even until the time of the meeting (about a month ago), the lawyer told us, no studies have been done on people who suffered interrogation and torture for the length of time Amiram had.
So, the judge who presumed that Amiram was in possession of his faculties when he confessed had no idea what he was talking about, and no basis on which to make the judgment he did seven years ago.
Also, Amiram was given a lie detector test...and he failed. That means his confession shouldn't have been admissible because, according to the test, he LIED.
Somehow I think the "emergency measures" have had a lot to do with cases like this, and this one in particular. Calling him a terrorist is an excuse to abuse him further, possibly for the rest of his life. And the measures allow them to do that, apparently.
They do that a lot to "settlers" — that is, to Jews who live in Yehuda and Shomron, and those who lived in Gush Katif until August 2005.
May G-d help us and redeem us quickly, before the world goes dead!
How to Help
Petitions do get the word out. However, the best thing to do, for his friends and defenders around the world, is to be in touch with the local embassies and consulates in your area, anywhere in the world.
The legal organization Honenu has a list of email addresses for embassies and consulates. Write them here. Also, take some advice from Rivka Levy, here.
UPDATE: You can now be in touch with me at my blog address, chavadorit at gmail dot com (in the correct format, of course) for the email address of the Israeli embassy or consulate of your choice.
His name for prayer is Amiram ben Nurit.
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More reading:
The modern-day siege of Jerusalem and how we can overcome it | Ramban's vision upon the Mount of Olives | Soldier/prison guard was raped 3 times by terrorist | On Tisha b'Av, a story of how Jews infighting in the 7th century CE has worldwide implications today | All senior Islamic Jihad officials in Gaza eliminated | ...all eyes are on Hamas | Gaza's failed rocket launch kills several Palestinian children | Arab gossip website lists Seinfeld as half-Syrian among international celebrities with Arab roots | Spot the Difference | A Terrorist Lingers in Plain Sight. Why Is She Still Free? |
