Thursday, May 04, 2006

What Unites a Chareidi, A Druze and a Muslim?

Shocking murder in the North.

No, not another suspected baby killing by a Chareidi like the Walles case in Jerusalem.

But this:-

A 25-year old woman from the village of Rama near Karmiel, in the north of the country, was stabbed to death Wednesday evening in an apparent "honor killing" committed by one or both of her parents.

An "honor killing" is a term used to describe the murder of a female who has tarnished the family's image, usually by engaging in unwarranted sexual activity.

The victim's father called in the police and initially confessed to murdering his daughter. However, during their interrogation later, both parents blamed each other for the killing.The daughter's body was found in an open field east of a kibbutz Ayelet HaShahar carrying multiple stab wounds. Police officers promptly detained the parents, whose clothes were bloodstained.

An initial investigation showed that the woman arrived at the area with her parents to pick fruit. An argument later ensued and at one point one of the parents apparently pulled out a knife and proceeded to stab the victim to death. Police estimate the parents suspected the woman dishonored the family.

Meanwhile, news of the murder spread through the village of Rama. The killed woman belongs to a Druze family that has resided in the community for many years.


Here are some other reports:

1.
Some nine Israeli Arab women have been murdered by family members in "honor killings" since the beginning of the year [2005], the Women Against Violence organization said Wednesday.

The organization presented statistics showing that "honor killings" - instances in which women considered to have broken social codes and shamed their family's honor are murdered by family members - are gaining social acceptance in the Arab sector.

Such crimes are only "the tip of the iceberg" in the number of violent assaults on women in the Arab sector, the rights group said.

Shfaram's Samar Hasan, 23, was allegedly murdered by her father and uncles, who are Christian, because she was living with a Muslim man.

Women Against Violence called on Israeli Arab leaders to condemn violence aimed at women.


2.
"Doctor, 4 brothers arrested for murder of sister in 'honor killing,'"

A gag order was lifted on Thursday on the arrests of five brothers from Lod who are suspected of murdering their 19-year-old sister in the name of family honor.

The young girl, Rim Abu Ganem, was killed after her brother Suliman, a 33-year-old pediatrician at Assaf Harofeh Hospital, allegedly gave his brothers an anesthetic with which to drug her. According to the suspicions against them, her brothers, whose ages range from 20 to 33, choked her to death after she fell asleep.


3. A background article.


I'll stop here with examples.

My point?

Well, I feel that there was a lot of (justified) revulsion and criticism of the suspected murder of an infant by his father last month and over which there were riots and political pressure brought to bear.

But, have we heard or read about any similar revulsion and active condemnation (that means getting organized to really do something) from our Lefties and Liberals and Progressives over these and many other instances?

Or, perhaps, is a blind eye turned> Or is it thought that they are so primitive, who cares? Or what?

I do think one cannot seperate the situations. Family violence is horrific. If they young man is guilty, he should be punished. But, as is claimed, this was a unique situation, etc., etc., we need apply even harsher standards to what seems to be an anthropological custom that musty be done away with and who better than our Lefties, those supposedly clsoest to the Muslims and others who uphold the demand of "honor killings".

2 comments:

DovBear said...

This is so stupid it drools. Who on the left do you think supports the idea of honor killings? Do you really need me to condemn it? Fine. I condemn it. The difference between this and the Valis case are mulitple. Among other things, Valis is one of our own, and he belongs to a community that is wrongly and rediculously idealized. No one idealizes the Muslims. There's no romantic Muslim bubble that needs to be popped. It's no chidush to say that some Muslims are backwards, unenlightened and dangerous. However, the news that Charedi neighborhoods are less that utopic is still news to some. Thus, the Valis story makes for a better post.

YMedad said...

DB is so, well, forthright. In-your-computer. And, of course, being Jewish rather than Israeli, doesn't comprehend the significance of Israeli citizenship. We are a civic nation and yet we carry on, both from the Right and the Left, as if we are still in Europe or plain Gallus, and there are bad neighborhoods and goyim we have to stay away from. Israel is more than and enlarged shtetl and we need to do something about it - either better integration (while not losing cultural, etnical characteristics - which, btw, should include 'honor killings' [we already gave up slaughtering young Christian boys for matza baking on Passover eve centuries ago]) or population rearrangement, maybe, and I only suggest that because it seems to have become an officila Israeli government policy, if only limited to victimising Jews. And yes, the Left simply ignores the matter but gets all up, hot and bothered about "unzerer" (our own) concerns because we like to argue with ourselves and avoid others because who are we that should actually tell the Arabs their nuts and effectively use state institutions to quash the custom? It's the old "bending-over-backwards-to-injure-ourselves" attitude that you expressed.