Newsflash: Halamish Brothers

5 Nissan 5768

From Women In Green:

NEWSFLASH from the Committee for the Release of the
Halamish Brothers!

Against all odds and against all expectations, at the very last minute, the incarceration of Danny and Itzik Halamish has been postponed until after Pesach by Judge Ravid who could not accept the fact that the Halamish brothers were refused a proper hearing when they asked to postpone their jail term.

Such a hearing will be held after Pesach.

Accordingly, the demonstration that was supposed to be held tomorrow is also postponed. Details will be posted if needed.

Datya Yitzhaki, Secretary Maaleh Rehavam 050-5246770
Nadia Matar, co-chair Women in Green 050-5500834

Uniting Against Imprisoning The Halamish Brothers

Rosh Hodesh Nissan 5768

Activist Groups Unite to Thwart Halamish Jailing

by Ezra HaLevi

(IsraelNN.com) Various activist groups have joined together to declare their intention to bodily prevent two first-response team members from being jailed for defending their homes.

Danny and Itzik Halamish were handed a prison sentence after a Jerusalem court accepted the Palestinian Bedouins’ account of a security incident in eastern Gush Etzion instead of that of the brothers and the local IDF-appointed head of security (click here for an interview with Danny and here for more background information)

Posters plastered all over the Jerusalem region overnight read: “Prisoners of Zion in Zion! We shall not be silent! We shall say to the judicial system, which denies Jews the right to defend their lives and the land of Israel: We won’t agree to the imprisonment of the brothers Izik and Danny Halamish because we too are ‘guilty’ of the wish to preserve our lives and our land.”

The poster's English version

The posters call upon the public to appear next Thursday (April 10) at 9:30 AM at the police station in Jerusalem’s Russian Compound – where the brother are required to turn themselves in to begin their prison sentences. “We shall be present and prevent this miscarriage of justice,” the announcement declares.

Organizers say they are quite serious about preventing the Halamish brothers from being jailed. Organizations participating include the Yesha Rabbis’ Council, Honenu Legal Aid organization, Women in Green, Land of Israel Loyalists, Land of Israel Youth, Homesh First, the Committee to Save the Nation and the Land, Manhigut Yehudit, Mateh Tzafon, Nahalal Forum, V’yirashtem Otah, Pidion Shvuyim and the Action Committees of Efrat, Gush Etzion, Kiryat Arba and Hevron.

For updates, activist are invited to SMS the word חלמיש to
052 999 1800

Efforts to Receive Peres Clemency Ongoing
According to the Mateh Tzafon activist group, President Shimon Peres has agreed to consider a special clemency request for the Halamish brothers. However, Peres's office called the brothers and told them that the clemency proceeding requires 6 months and asked whether they had filed in court for a 6-month deferral of their sentence. The brothers indeed filed the request in the Jerusalem District Court but have not yet received an answer, because "no time has been found in the court's schedule to do so," according to activists. "This is a familiar trick in other contexts -- petitions to the Supreme Court against the release of terrorists have been scheduled for after the terrorists were released, etc."

Activists are therefore asked to contact the court's administrative secretary by fax to the Jerusalem District court: 02-6292522, 02-6292521, 02-6281284 or 02-6291405 (replace zero with 011 972 from overseas). Mateh Tzfon's sample letter reads as follows:

To the secretary responsible for the schedule of Judge Jonathan Adiel,
President Peres is looking into clemency for the two security officers from Gush Etzion, Dani and Itizk Halamish, who are said to have shot in the air and toward the ground (though not at people). As is standard, these brothers have petitioned for their jail sentence to be delayed to give the President time to do so. Unfortunately, the brothers' petition has yet to be placed in the court's schedule, even though it is clearly very urgent since their jail sentence starts in a week!

I ask that you as a good-faith administrator make sure that the brothers' urgent petition is given the proper priority in the court docket so the petition is taken up at a realistic time i.e. before their jail sentence begins.


Sincerely, (name)

Faxes may be sent to Israel's Minister of Justice Daniel Friedmann at 02-6285438 and to President Shimon Peres at 02-5611033.

*********

Related Links:

Caroline Glick's piece on the Halamish case, Israel's Accountiblity Problem

Women In Green's suggested plan of action, Halamish Brothers

Update on Tzvia Sariel -- still imprisioned without charges

Tzvia Sariel is still behind bars for over three months. She is a victim -- not a perpetrator -- of horrible abuse. But, alas, she happens to agree with the outrageous concept that Eretz Yisrael belongs to the Jewish people. Hence, the so-called Human Rights organizations are, as usual, too busy spreading Arab propaganda as to notice the 18 year old Jewish girl been held captive without charges.


This is from an email:

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Tzvia Sariel cleared by rabbinical court and forcibly returned to solitary confinement.

In an unprecedented move, Tzvia Sariel, in jail for more than three months without formal charges, was ordered released by a rabbinical court in Jerusalem. But prison guards grabbed 18-year-old Tzvia and returned her to jail for another bout of solitary confinement.







Her "crime"? She refuses to cooperate with Israeli authorities, which have kept her in jail without evidence or witnesses in an attempt to intimidate her and other Jewish activists from protesting the Olmert government's plan to destroy the Jewish community in Judea and Samaria.







On March 14, Netanya Magistrates Court Judge Smadar Kolander Abramovitch ruled that Tzvia be brought to the rabbinical court to enable the rabbis to convince her to cooperate with secular Israeli authorities. On March 14, she was taken in leg irons to the rabbinical court, which declared her innocent of charges of assaulting an Arab and ordered her immediately freed. At that point, however, prison guards spirited Tzvia to a waiting van and she was returned to prison to continue her fourth month in jail.







"This was totally unexpected," Rabbi Chaim Richmond, one of four rabbinical judges, said. "In our presence, the prison warden made a call and they were expected to take Tzvia back to a civil court to be released."







The treatment of Tzvia is not exceptional. Since 2005, when the Israeli government planned the expulsion of the nearly 10,000 Jews from the Gaza Strip and northern Samaria, authorities drafted regulations tha reserved special penalties for Jewish protesters. More than 800 indictments, many of them involving minors, were issued against those who protested the government's destruction of Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip.







"Every day and every hour that Tzvia Sariel spends behind bars is injustice to this girl," Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, head of the rabbinical court, said. "Justice demands that she be released immediately. It is a serious stain on the judiciary system in Israel. According to the Torah law of Israel, we are demanding her immediate release without conditions and to erase the indictment."







The major Israeli media, particularly the state-operated radio and television, did not mention a word of this travesty of justice. So, we must turn to you, lovers of Israel, and ask that you act to help defend Jewish rights in Israel.







As a first step, we request that you telephone -- rather than e-mail -- the Israeli Embassy or the Israeli consulate nearest you and demand to know why Tzvia is still in prison. The embassy's phone number is 202-364-5500. Stress, that as an American citizen, you can ask the State Department to investigate what you feel is clearly a human rights violation.







Now, we are asking you to call your member of Congress and raise the issue of Tzvia Sariel. We also ask you to call the State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor and inform them of Tzvia and demand an investigation. Tell the department officer you have also raised Tziva's case with your member of Congress. The State Department's main numbers are 202-647-4000 or 1-800-877-8339.







The Olmert government, with an approval rating of near zero, has refused any accountability to the Israeli people and fears only the Bush administration. Unless we act now, there will be many more Tzvia's in jail.







If you agree with this, please act quickly. What could be more important than winning the release of a Jewish child imprisoned for loving her country and people?

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To download and read the Psak of the Sanhedrin, click here (the text is in Hebrew)

The Case of Tzvia Sariel -- An 18 Year-Old Prisoner of Zion in the Holy Land

This is from an email from Mattot Arim:

Tomorrow (Wednesday), Kfar Saba: Another Court Session Re: 18 Year-Old Imprisoned Girl

In the USA: Call the Embassy, ask about Tzvia!!

Tomorrow, 5 March, come to Kfar Saba to attend yet another court session for jailed Tzvia from Elon Moreh. Session begins at 9 in Bet Mishpat haShalom courthouse in Kfar Saba (a few minutes walk from Tsomet Raanana -- right next to the police station). Ask for Judge Nava Bechor's courtroom -- It is preferable to come at 8 if you want to be inside (as opposed to holding a sign outside) because the courtroom is very small. Call Dudi in the morning to make sure there is no change in the time: 052-6070116. You may wish to bring a little sign: FREE TZVIA NOW!!

Pidion Shvuim Alert for USA Citizens re: Tzvia Sariel
Age: 18 Whereabouts: in Neve Tirza prison for three months
Charge: refusing to cooperate with police

How you can help her: Tzvia Sariel has been in prison for three months. Her crime: She refuses to cooperate with police who arrested her at a protest in her community of Elon Moreh in northern Samaria. On Feb. 27, Tzvia was brought to court where witnesses failed to identify her as the girl accused of pushing three Arabs. Still, Kfar Saba Magistrate Navah Bechor sent Tzvia back to jail until the next hearing on March 5. The treatment of Tzvia is not exceptional. Since 2005, when the Israeli government planned the expulsion of the nearly 10,000 Jews from Gush Katif and northern Samaria, authorities drafted regulations that reserved special treatment for Jewish protesters.

When residents of Sderot blocked the Tel Aviv highway in February in anger over the government's refusal to stop Hamas missile gunners, police stood by respectfully. When Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria, protesting the government's expulsion policy, tried to do the same, they were beaten and thrown into prison.

Please telephone the Israeli Embassy at 202-364-5500 or the Israeli consulate nearest you and ask why Tzvia is still in prison. Do not argue with the embassy or consulate staffers. Instead, say that as a devout supporter of Israel, you have been defending the Jewish state from criticism by pro-Arabs who accuse Israel of violating human rights.

Therefore, you are shocked to hear about Tzvia, do not understand why she is in prison and feel that she be released immediately. Stay calm, but be very clear in your message.

Please act quickly. What could be more important than winning the release of a young Jewish girl imprisoned for loving her country and people?

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See also here story in Arutz Sheva (click here)

Daughters Of Zion Video

16 Shevat 5768


The following video was recently produced to publicize the plight of young Jewish prisoners, who up until recently were held in prison for refusing to participate with the corrupt, Israeli Judicial system. One 16-year-old is still being held. The video exposes the Israeli prison system, which is abusive to religious activists.




This video also has the goal of publicizing the Jewish People's struggle for its Homeland.



Thanks to Voice Of Judea for the video link.



Those interviewed or who provide commentary include Nadia Matar of Women In Green, Rabbi Yeshayahu Hollander, of the nascent Sanhedrin, Prof. Hillel Weiss, and a young activist encouraging her friends to maintain their faith and hope.



The introduction to the video reads:



"Young female religious teens were held in jail for almost one month for refusal to recognize the corrupt government system. Their crime: ... all » being on a hilltop in Judea - Samaria, Israel. One girl is still in jail since Dec. 5, '08. They placed her in solitary confinement to break her. She is 18 years old. She needs your help. Here is their story and their jail conditions, motivation and determination."



Several young women attempt to block the police van carrying their friends. Please keep in mind that it is a violation of the girls right to be handled by male law enforcement officers.

Although all but one of the girls have been released, there are still expenses to be covered.


To help contribute to the emergency campaign for their release:


From the U. S. 011-962-54-489-6709


From Israel 054-489-6709


mishallyisrael@yahoo.com

Cross posted on the B'nai Elim Blog

Israel the Police State/Country of pigheaded fools

Israel is not a democratic country or a Jewish country for that matter. In a democracy courts would need evidence to jail people for 24 months. In a Jewish country Arabs would be executed or at least deported for even threatening a Jew.

Israel is neither, and as such is no longer a valid state. She does not belong in the League of Nations. Her leaders are empty, pigheaded clots whose only concerns are their pocketbooks and liquor cabinets.

ARREST ME FOR BREATHING- I'M JEWISH!!!!

Olmert finishes Hitler's work, and most Israelis will go on with their days as if nothing is wrong.


On a side note, Nasrallah wants Olmert to stay in power...because Olmert does a better job ruining Israel than Hizballah!!!

"If we have to choose between a foolish prime minister and another who is strong and capable, we prefer that the fool remain,” he told Lebanese Al-Safir newspaper Tuesday. Nasrallah made the comments when asked about the prime minister’s recent claims - themselves based on Nasrallah’s statements - that Israel had won the war.

"I don't mind that Olmert is benefiting from [my statements that we did not expect Israel’s response],” Nasrallah said. “Olmert says he achieved something because he put me in a bunker. All his objectives in the war amounted only to my being in a bunker.”

Nofyah Altman

Israeli Judge: All Jews Who Defend Themselves will be Prosecuted to the Fullest Extent of the Law.

In one of its most reprehensible rulings ever, the Israeli "Just"ice system has ruled that Daniel Pinner is guilty. Ruling was made on unreliable eyewitness testimony, some of which claimed Daniel was a foot taller, wore a hat, etc, etc.

Daniel Pinner Found Guilty
17:00 Jan 29, '06 / 29 Tevet 5766
By Hillel Fendel


Daniel Pinner, who shot in the air when attacked by a rock-throwing Arab mob, was found guilty by the Be'er Sheva District Court of causing willful and malicious injury. He faces a 3-year sentence.



Pinner, who made Aliyah from England and lives in Kfar Tapuach, has been in prison for over seven months. He was arrested on June 22 for allegedly firing at and injuring an Arab on the Gush Katif beach. Pinner has maintained that he shot in the air in self-defense when a mob of some 50 Arabs threw rocks at him; Arab witnesses and participants admitted in court that they were throwing rocks.

Pinner, 38, an unmarried teacher and licensed electrician, was in Gush Katif at the time to volunteer his services in the refurbishing of the Palm Beach Hotel for new families. Four days after the incident, he was arrested at home, with the police first claiming that he had shot an Arab in the chest, and then later in the leg. Even after months in jail, Pinner did not lose his sense of humor, describing his court hearings in the following manner:

"...It was Wednesday 28 September, and I was up for the second hearing of my trial... Justice was proceeding at its usual sedate, calm pace, undisturbed by such concepts as presumption of innocence, factual evidence, or the right to a speedy trial. The hearing itself was comparatively brief - about an hour or so, in which two police officers in charge of the interrogation testified that: ...
• yes, they found a spent cartridge from my Uzi;
• no, they had not bothered to check the range or angle of fire to see if that could possibly have been the bullet which allegedly hit Nasser Wafi;
• no, they had not been able to run an identity parade to ask the Arab eye-witnesses if I was the shooter;
• no, they could not explain why it was impossible to do an identity parade;
• no, they could not explain why the police did not think of photographing me in order to run a photographic identity parade."

Atty. Baruch Ben-Yosef expressed disgust at the ruling, saying it "simply ignored all of our legal claims, such as the expert who said that it was impossible to ascertain whether the wound was even caused by a bullet... The judge believed the Arab witnesses, despite the discrepancies in their testimony."

The ruling was handed down Sunday morning by Justice Rachel Barkai of the Be'er Sheva District Court.

Ben-Yosef believes there are strong grounds to appeal to the Supreme Court, and Pinner is likely to do so. In the meanwhile, however, sentencing hearings are currently scheduled for March 8. A probation report must also be prepared for this purpose. He faces a possible three-year prison sentence.

Supreme Court has No Power ...except when it wants it

Court Confirms Jewish Ownership but Okays Expulsion Order 19:21 Jan 19, '06 / 19 Tevet 5766
(IsraelNN.com) A Bet Shemesh judge Thursday evening rejected a petition from the Shlissel family of Hevron which asked the court to cancel government orders to expel them and other Jewish families from their Hevron homes. Judge Shimon Stein said the court has no authority to cancel the order but acknowledged during the hearings that the property is owned by Jews.The family charged that the court's reasoning for rejecting the petition was irrelevant to the issues but added that at least "the truth came out" concerning Jewish ownership.