Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Sensitive Rationality - Or, Plain Democracy

Remember this?

The state prosecution demanded unprecedentedly harsh punishment in a charge sheet against six minor girls who demonstrated outside the home of former Yehudah and Shomron (Judea and Samaria) Division Commander Maj.-Gen. Noam Tibon.

Well, in a similar case, we now have a bit of rational sensitivity:

A young Israeli from the West Bank settlement of Yitzhar who was arrested for distributing pamphlets denouncing a prosecutor was ordered released from house arrest on Tuesday.

Petah Tikva Magistrate Court Judge Einat Ron ruled that the boy, who was arrested on the charge of insulting a public figure, engaged in legitimate protest by handing out fliers outside the home of Shir Laufer...Prosecutors allege that on two occasions earlier this year, the boy handed out pamphlets which accused Laufer of "persecuting many Jews who live in the area."

"Laufer and her department are legally backing the government's war on illegal outposts which the government seeks to hand over to the Arabs," read the flier. "Whoever collaborates with the hostile authorities needs to pay for the damage inflicted against their brothers. The [collaborator] is responsible for its actions and he is participating in the injustice even if he is a small pawn in the system."

Judge Ron restricted his entry into Petah Tikva, Laufer's city of residence. As such, the judge offered harsh criticism of the police and prosecutors, who sought to extend the boy's remand on the grounds that the pamphlet constituted "a palpable danger whose scope is difficult to predict."

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