The thoughts of Chairman Geoff

Ezra Nawi was recently found guilty of assaulting an officer during an incident two years ago when some  Bedouin huts were demolished by the army in the South Hebron Hills.

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Here is a Utube video of the incident

The court transcript is at http://www.courts.co.il/SR/shalom/s07003246-82.htm

Amongst other things I see there was an argument about whether Ezra gave the arresting officer a punch on the face.

In the officer's initial statement no such accusation appeared (and we certainly didn't see any such thing on the film).

The accusation only turned up later. This was one of the points made by the defence attorney in her "irrelevant" cross-examination.

The judge of course accepted that he punched the officer and that the officer was "forced to defend himself".

Here is an exchange I had with a guy called Abtalion regarding the case

Numbered points are Abtalion:

To Abtalyon,

1.Being photographed waving your hands about when you claim you have them in your pockets all the time just shows that you are a liar and is likely to cast doubt on anything else you might say.

Yeah - right - your obviously the villian if you can't remember exactly when your hands were in your pockets while you were in front of armed troops and a bulldozer.

2. Contrary to "your understanding" a plea bargain must be agreed by both prosecutor and defending counsel and fully documented BEFORE the court hearing. Had such an agreement been in existence, it would have been presented at the start of the hearing and the judge asked to give or withhold her approval.

So why did the defence council think there was one? I offer two explanations, either the defence council was interminably thick, or the prosecutor lost the documents with the connivance of the judge. I know which one I think.

3. In her comments, the judge revealed that defence witnesses were not summoned to the original hearing, for which she allotted extra time so as not to harm the defence.

Something to do with the court not sending out the summonses. The witnesses knew they were supposed to attend, but without the summonses couldn't get through the roadblocks.

4. Nawi was charged with assault on the grounds that he forcefully pushed both policemen against the walls of the hut, the punch to one of them being part of that assault.

So why didn't it appear in the arresting officer's original statement?
Why did he only remember about it afterwards?
Why were the defence attorney's questions on this point regarded by the judge as repetitive and irrelevant?
Why would a fifty year old man punch a 20 year old in the face? Is this normal? Does common sense say that this happened? Did Ezra look drunk or drugged in the film.

What do you think a jury would think?

Face the facts. This has "stitch up" written all over it.

The judge should be made to resign forthwith.

I have often wondered how exceedingly intelligent people, with remarkable capacities for comprehension, innovation, empathy and creativity, suddenly change into pictures of paranoia believing all Arabs are bent on their immediate and total destruction, as soon as the subject turns to Israel's security.

Then the politicians play on this paranoia and make it worse, and then have to play to the even worse paranoia the next time to get elected.

Then Hamas go and fire their rockets - so bad they are of no tactical use, yet it has the effect of further feeding the paranoia.

Who does this vicious cycle benefit? The arms industry (global -but particularly those of the US and Israel) and the Israeli defence establishment. No threat - that would be a lot of soldiers back on civy street, and lost profits for the arms industry.

Are they sponsoring the Israeli politicians, or otherwise exerting influence? Probably.

How to get out of this vicious cycle?

Well for a start:

1) Stop the arms industry.

2) Oppose any politician who appears to be in thrall to the arms industry or defence establishment.

Then, when no-one has any interest in perpetuating the symptoms, it will be possible to deal with the real causes of conflict, deprivation, inequality, mutual ethnic distrust.