Haredim Are Next!

ג' לחודש הרביעי תשע"ג

 JPost: Ministers Approve Upping Punishments for Terror

Lahav Harkov, June 9, 2013

Meretz, ACRI say bill is anti-democratic, violates human rights; MK Gal-On accuses Knesset of waylaying human rights to fight terror.

The punishments for involvement in terror organizations and for anyone who supports, identifies or sympathizes with terror will be increased, according to a bill approved by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation Sunday.

The Justice Ministry worked on the bill for four years, and its passage was disrupted by the last election.

The bill increases sentences for terror attacks from 30 to 40 years and, in some cases, allows suspects to be jailed for up to 30 days without seeing a lawyer. In addition, the state will be able to seize property belonging to terror organizations and limit their members from leaving the country even if there is no warrant for their arrest.

The bill will also apply to “price tag” vandalism, which Justice Minister Tzipi Livni considers terror.

The legislation is meant to replace the national state of emergency in matters of terror.

The national emergency has been extant since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, and includes hundreds of orders covering security issues as well as civil and economic ones.

Meretz leader Zehava Gal-On accused the government of trampling on human rights in the name of fighting terror.

“This bill is invalid and unconstitutional, as it gives the government draconian authority to arrest people and limit freedom of movement, and turns law-abiding people and organizations into ‘terrorists,’” Gal-On said.

Gal-On said that the government fights terror with “one hand tied behind its back,” paraphrasing former Supreme Court president Aharon Barak.

“The state of emergency, which was applied here since the British Mandate, cannot be replaced with anti-democratic legislation that will be anchored in our modern lawbooks,” she added. “Even in a democracy, not everything is allowed.”

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) panned the bill, saying it allows the government to take serious steps against people and organizations without a trial and without minimum guarantees that their rights will be defended. “The bill seeks to perpetuate and even worsen the anti-democratic arrangements in the state of national emergency,” the organization said. “Therefore, it will cause serious and irreversible damage to the state of human rights in Israel.”

Esser Agaroth (2¢):

Sure, this bill has been in the works for four years. But, anyone who does not think that the government is grabbing the opportunity to harass those "settlers" not supremely loyal to the government is naive, at best, and a collaborator with them at worst.

I do not believe for a minute that Meretz Leader Zahava Gal-On gives a hoot about "settlers" rights. However, some years ago, she did allude to her discomfort with Administrative Detention, a hold-over from the British Mandate period, even when it concerned Hevron Hills resident Noam Federman. It is my belief that she knows that if Administrative Detention can be used against a settler, unfavorable by the government, then it can be applied to anyone, including left-wing, so-called "social justice" demonstrators and anarchist, security fence protestors. (For the record, I, too am against that "security fence.")

Administrative Detention can result in a court summary judgment that any particular is a threat to public safety, based on evidence gathered, which might not even be shared with defense counsel. The accused can then be "detained" without indictment or trial, and having only limited contact with counsel before the hearing, if that.

She does make a good point, though, even if she is thinking about Arabs, when she says it:

“This bill is invalid and unconstitutional, as it gives the government draconian authority to arrest people and limit freedom of movement, and turns law-abiding people and organizations into ‘terrorists,’” Gal-On said.

Please tell me when MK's finally stop talking about what is or is not "constitutional." Israel doesn't have a Constitution, so how could anything be constitutional or unconstitutional??

Nevertheless, when applied to Jews who hold The Amighty and His Torah on a higher level of authority than the Israeli Government and its laws, this fits the bill of the Erev Rav's anti-Torah policies  perfectly.

So, where do the Haredim come in? Like it or not, their priorities are like those of the ideologically based "settlers:"

חוקי התורה קודמין לחוקי האדם.

The Laws of the Torah take precedence over the laws of man.

Soon, the lighting trashcans on fire will be declared a terrorist act by Minister Livni. And, your sons being dragged off to be conscripted into the IDF will be the least of your worries.

You'll be sitting in "detention" with "Settlers."

Hopefully, though, it won't take you that long to realize, that in many ways we are all on the same side, the side of The Almighty and His Torah.