A murder in Halhoul
A murder in Halhoul
Biur Chametz is concerned that the Israeli government is going down the path it went down in 1995, in delegitimizing its opponents. The impetus for his concern is what has now turned out to be a false story about Finance Minister Netanyahu being attacked at a wedding. He was heckled, for sure. But he was not attacked. (No matter what the Jerusalem Post says in its editorial.)
The passing of Adir Zik last week brought this question to mind again: Who instructed Avishai Raviv to take credit (in the name of his "Jewish" organization Eyal) for the murder of an Arab in Halhoul (which was later found to have been perpetrated by an Arab)?
I've previously posted on this topic. Thanks to Biur, you can follow a link to articles about Avishai Raviv's involvement in besmirching the Right in Israel. To my mind reaction of the Labor government the murder of an Arab, Salman Zamareh (or Azamareh) on Sept 7, 1995 should have been a great scandal. But like everything else having to do Avishai Raviv, it's been buried.
Zamareh was killed by several assailant wearing Israeli army uniforms. Shortly afterwards a caller claiming to be from the extreme Israeli organization Eyal took credit for the murder. The problem was that there was no organization Eyal, it was one man, Avishai Raviv, a GSS agent charged with keeping his eye on violent members of the Israeli Right.
That didn't stop government ministers, including some who almost certainly knew that Raviv was Eyal. Benny Begin MK said that in their propaganda campaign against the Likud and the current prime minister, Labor and Meretz have made use of slogans that we now know were instigated by Avishai Raviv. Begin added that Yossi Sarid needs to do a little soul-searching of his own. When Arabs were murdered in Halhoul three years ago, the Eyal group, of which Raviv was the head, boasted that it was behind the deed. Sarid called for the expulsion of the entire population of Kiryat Arba. When it later turned out that the murders were committed by Palestinian neighbors of the victims, Sarid did not apologize, and declared: "I did not cast aspersions on upstanding people. In Kiryat Arba, there are no upstanding people." Begin summed it up on Wednesday night: Sarid was a member of the ministerial committee responsible for the Shin Bet; his response at the time was a blatantly cynical act. That wasn't Caroline Glick but Uzi Benzamin of Ha'aretz. Another columnist from Ha'aretz, Reuven Pedatzur, quoted by The Jerusalem Report's Yossi Klein Halevy, noted that the GSS had been corrupted too: Reuven Pedatzur, a columnist who specializes in security issues for the daily Ha'aretz, claims that three days after the Halhoul murder, senior Shin Bet officials briefed Rabin's cabinet about the incident. According to Pedatzur, the officials lied -- stating that signs pointed to right-wing Jewish involvement, and citing Eyal as a prime suspect. "The Shin Bet knew for certain that Eyal, which was run by the Shin Bet, didn't commit the murder," wrote Pedatzur in a Ha'aretz column last year. And, Pedatzur insists, the Shin Bet could have told the ministers the truth, that Eyal was not involved, without compromising agent Raviv. By deliberately exposing the right to left-wing political attack over this incident, he concludes, "the Shin Bet apparently crossed the line into dangerous involvement in the political arena." (Thanks to Biur Chametz for the valuable link at which I found these articles.)
I realize that governments often take actions that go against the law. Usually the consequences, if any, are minor. But in this case, in 1995, the government's actions interfered in a murder investigation. In Israel, there are presumably criminal statutes governing such actions, yet no one has been called to account. No one cared much if the Right was smeared even if it involved a felony.
While searching for items about the murder in Halhoul I found this: Sept. 8: Salman Azamareh is shot and killed by masked men near his home in Halhul. Radical settler groups, 'Eyal' and 'David's Sword' claim responsibility. That's from a Palestinian website so it won't surprise you when I tell you that the arrest of the actual perpetrators isn't mentioned. But when American papers followed up on the murder it wasn't more than a paragraph or two from wire services. The murder though got reported by first line reporters about how it portended the rise of a violent Right. No newspaper I'm aware of spent anytime trying to correct the false impression the original story made.
It appears that the false charges are starting again. Hopefully the government will realize how terrible it is to slander a sector of its citizens. But if 1995 is any lesson the government won't learn and many innocents will be marginalized.
Crossposted on Israpundit and Soccer Dad.
Posted by David Gerstman at February 15, 2005 03:08 AM
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Biur Chametz is concerned that the Israeli government is going down the path it went down in 1995, in delegitimizing its opponents. The impetus for his concern is what has now turned out to be a false story about Finance... [Read More]
Tracked on February 15, 2005 03:12 AM
1.
ShyGuy
said:
Here we go again!
http://web.israelinsider.com/Articles/Briefs/4992.htm
And it doesn't seem like any Israeli news channel has since adjusted their description of the "attack" on Netanyahu.
In the meantime, the Bolshevik past rears its ugly head:
"Sometimes in order to safeguard democracy, we have to use undemocratic means such as administrative detention."
- Moshe Katzav, President of Israel 02/14/2005
Get ready.
Posted by: ShyGuy on February 15, 2005 04:16 AM
2.
BobW
said:
Agree with above post. My major difference is not to use words like "corrupted" - although correct. I use a world view that the government is not a sovereign representing the Jewish people within its venue. I liken the Government of Israel to a provincial administration of the Ottomans.
Don't forget Dr Baruch Goldberg's fraudulent "mass murders" in Hebron about a decade ago. Commandos couldn't kill so many (believe 29) so fast than Dr Goldberg was charged with other than via AGITPROP of Shin Bet.
Can criminal statutes be said to exist in a country without an independent judiciary? I . I see the judiciary as a sham. Recall national security decisions involving the security fence being "adjudicated" by the "Supreme Court".
Kol tuv,
BobW
Posted by: BobW on February 15, 2005 05:32 AM
3.
ShyGuy
said:
That's Goldstein - not Goldberg.
I've got no problem with Goldstein managing to murder 29 people. Why do you say otherwise?
Posted by: ShyGuy on February 15, 2005 05:44 AM
4.
BobW
said:
Shalom Shy Guy,
Appreciate correcting my mistake re Dr Goldstein.
It's not that easy to kill 29 people with an M16 rifle in the area and time span reported. If it was reported that Dr Goldstein had used explosives or a recoilless rifle, I'd change my opinion. With an M-16 - 29 people - ?! It doesn't sound right to me.
Kol tuv,
BobW
Posted by: BobW on February 15, 2005 07:02 AM
5.
Felixquigley
said:
I do not agree with the line taken above on Goldstein but I will develop it more at a later stage. Netanyahu was heckled, not attacked physically. It was put across in the European press that he was attacked by dangerous extremists. The whole issue of the settlers being expelled from Gaza is being orchestrated by the European media. It now seems that Sharon and his folks are behind this. This brings into my mind the seasoning, when the principled leaders of the opposition like Begin were attacked in the same way by the Labourist cum stalinist cum social democratic elements in the leadership around, I believe, no less a person than Ben Gurion. It looks like a whole international conspiracy is being swung into action here. Rice, Bush, Blair, all of the EU, all of the Muslim countries, even Hamas now playing the game. It also brings to mind the past decade in Yugoslavia. We had a massacre staged (at a place called Racak), in which bodies were placed along a gorge, American CIA man Walker with the Press were there the next morning, and the rest is history. The Americans and Nato moved into Kosova within hours. We are facing really grim times and every single event has to be questioned. We have to see if we will win this one but at least every lie should be placed on the record.
Posted by: Felixquigley on February 15, 2005 12:02 PM
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A murder in Halhoul
Biur Chametz is concerned that the Israeli government is going down the path it went down in 1995, in delegitimizing its opponents. The impetus for his concern is what has now turned out to be a false story about Finance Minister Netanyahu being attacked at a wedding. He was heckled, for sure. But he was not attacked. (No matter what the Jerusalem Post says in its editorial.)
The passing of Adir Zik last week brought this question to mind again:
I've previously posted on this topic. Thanks to Biur, you can follow a link to articles about Avishai Raviv's involvement in besmirching the Right in Israel. To my mind reaction of the Labor government the murder of an Arab, Salman Zamareh (or Azamareh) on Sept 7, 1995 should have been a great scandal. But like everything else having to do Avishai Raviv, it's been buried.
Zamareh was killed by several assailant wearing Israeli army uniforms. Shortly afterwards a caller claiming to be from the extreme Israeli organization Eyal took credit for the murder. The problem was that there was no organization Eyal, it was one man, Avishai Raviv, a GSS agent charged with keeping his eye on violent members of the Israeli Right.
That didn't stop government ministers, including some who almost certainly knew that Raviv was Eyal. That wasn't Caroline Glick but Uzi Benzamin of Ha'aretz. Another columnist from Ha'aretz, Reuven Pedatzur, quoted by The Jerusalem Report's Yossi Klein Halevy, noted that the GSS had been corrupted too: (Thanks to Biur Chametz for the valuable link at which I found these articles.)
I realize that governments often take actions that go against the law. Usually the consequences, if any, are minor. But in this case, in 1995, the government's actions interfered in a murder investigation. In Israel, there are presumably criminal statutes governing such actions, yet no one has been called to account. No one cared much if the Right was smeared even if it involved a felony.
While searching for items about the murder in Halhoul I found this: That's from a Palestinian website so it won't surprise you when I tell you that the arrest of the actual perpetrators isn't mentioned. But when American papers followed up on the murder it wasn't more than a paragraph or two from wire services. The murder though got reported by first line reporters about how it portended the rise of a violent Right. No newspaper I'm aware of spent anytime trying to correct the false impression the original story made.
It appears that the false charges are starting again. Hopefully the government will realize how terrible it is to slander a sector of its citizens. But if 1995 is any lesson the government won't learn and many innocents will be marginalized.
Crossposted on Israpundit and Soccer Dad.
Posted by David Gerstman at February 15, 2005 03:08 AM