ISRAEL'S STATE PROSECUTION PURSUES JEWISH DISSIDENTS

Israeljustice.com

  JERUSALEM -- Israel's State Prosecution has intensified law enforcement measures against Jewish dissidents protesting its policies.  
    For the second time in as many weeks, police arrested demonstrators outside the home of Deputy State Prosecutor for Special Affairs Shai Nitzan and immediately issued criminal indictments against them on changes ranging from threats to trespassing and insulting a public official, punishable by five years.  
    On Oct. 22, police arrested the three, who remain unidentified, outside Nitzan's home in the Ramot neighborhood of Jerusalem. Police searched the demonstrators who were carrying leaflets criticizing Nitzan for the State Prosecutor's Office selective enforcement of law against Jews in the West Bank. The leaflets were signed by the Committee for Fairness in the State Prosecution.  
    "Who are you Shai Nitzan?" the leaflet read. "Shai Nitzan, Deputy State Prosecutor acts like a human rights supporter. He tells everyone how he is concerned about the rights of the defendants, how he is humane and how he is a fair and moral attorney. But Nitzan is mostly humane towards left-wing activists and the Arabs. For the settlers and for the right-wing, there is a different Shai Nitzan. Now everyone knows. Shai Nitzan is a left-wing agent in the service of the State Prosecution."  
    Police detained the protesters on charges of incitement.  
    On Oct. 14, Jerusalem Magistrate Ram Vinograd ordered Elhanan Groner distanced from Nitzan's home after he knocked at the door and told Nitzan he should be ashamed of himself for sanctioning the latest administrative expulsion orders against three Jewish residents of northern Samaria, including Groner's brother Ariel.  
    Groner was immediately arrested and indicted several hours later on charges of trespassing and insulting a public official. Police requested he be held until the end of judicial proceedings but Vinograd released him pending his trial.  
    "Everyone knows well Shai Nitzan's staff in the Prosecutor's Office that works non-stop to enforce laws especially against the Jews in Judea and Samaria," Nachi Eyal, head of the Legal Forum for Israel, said. "He received criticisms in the past from the State Comptroller but this hasn't bothered him to continue in his activities. This man works on the edge of legality."