At the time this piece was written, not a single indictment has been filed against the Arab rioters in Lod. More than 650 cases of violence have been reported in the mixed city, and yet – zero indictments.
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It might take time to do a thorough job. The problem is that I don't think the prosecution cares enough. It does not seek justice, nor does it care that it has the power to deter future rioters.
In Jaffa, one indictment has been filed against the Arab mob for violently attacking Dror Tamir, who tried to document the riots. The State Attorney's Office found it unnecessary to add a ethno-religious aspects of the attack to the charge.
A severe indictment, however, was filed in Bat Yam against Jews who attacked an Arab man, and rightfully so. They are accused of attempted murder, incitement to terrorism, and, of course, that all that was cited as racially motivated.
These charges could send the perpetrators to prison for decades. On the other hand, the maximum penalty for the Arabs who attacked Tamir in Jaffa is six years. How is this justice?
After the attack in Bat Yam, the media descended upon the city. But in Acre, where Elad Barzilai was attacked, no camera was to be seen. There was also no extensive news coverage of Haifa, where Arabs attacked Benny Salman, or during the negligent defense in the case of Yigal Yehoshua, who was lynched by an Arab mob in Lod.
In the case of Tamir, the media was distant. Was that attack not racially motivated? Does it not fall under the Counter-Terrorism Law? In most of the cases of Arab attacks on Jews, there have been no indictments at all. And if there is one, how is it worded? The legislature has given prosecutors the tools to see justice done – they just need to want to use them.
Sometimes I wonder if prosecutors and ordinary Israelis were living in the same country in the last two weeks. If so, how is it that the severity of the recent events, the attacks on the foundations of the State of Israel and the undermining of our sovereignty, are not being expressed? When there is a coup d'etat, which has been the case in recent weeks, the policy should be: Whenever there is doubt, there is no doubt. Severe legal action is part of what will deter those unrestrained rioters.
Another thing at stake here is public's trust in the State Attorney's Office. If senior officials do not know how to implement genuine – not politically correct – justice, then the rift between the Israeli public and the prosecution will become irreconcilable.
As per the latest data, of the 230 defendants, only 21 were accused of ethno-religious motives; 14 Arabs and seven Jews. This is a tragic joke. State Attorney's Office, the matter is in your hands. We are in your hands. And so is the truth.
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