"Son of a Whore" - A Policeman's Vocabulary

Here's a video and here's the story:

Last Sunday, a policeman accompanied his wounded companion to the MDA site for medical treatment after getting hit by an object on the Temple Mount.

One Jew was snapping shots and the female medic told him to stop. Another Jew told the first to continue shooting.



The accompanying policeman then punched the photographer



and shouted "Son of a whore, it's because of you that he was injured." (which you can hear quite clearly in the video: ben-zonah)

Gee, weren't there violent Arabs up there on the Temple Mount?

He Won't Be Hoofing It Up Anymore

A court has ruled policeman David Edri used excessive force when he trampled over a protestor during clashes which followed 2006 eviction of West Bank settelment of Amona. Note, though, that the protestor becomes a "settler". That's media framing or stereotyping:

Police horseman convicted of assaulting settler during settlement eviction

The Jerusalem Magistrate's Court convicted David Edri, a former police horseman, of assault Tuesday, after finding him guilty of intentionally trampling over a settler with his horse during the 2006 eviction of the West Bank settlement of Amona.

...During an attempt to disperse the riot, Edri galloped towards Yehuda Etzion, one of the protestors, and trampled him with his horse. As a result, Etzion suffered multiple contusions, a scalp laceration and internal bleeding in his leg.

The court ruled that Edri's actions constituted exercising excessive force, especially since the act was aimed at a single person.

Etzion was awarded $6,000 in restitution, as part of a civil proceeding, but according to the details of the settlement, he was to return the money should Edri be convicted.

"I have no personal animosity towards him," said Etzion, "But this kind of a police officer must be punished in a way that would deter others, and make the manner in which you treat people who are evacuated from their home, clear."

...Internal Affairs Bureau prosecutor Moshe Saada, however, was pleased: "The defendant is an officer with the Israeli Police Department and his action trampled over the rule of law. "The court sent a message to the police, that even when dispersing a riot, not all measures can be used."

Orit Stroch of the Yesha Council, said the group plans to file a High Court motion demanding Edri's dismissal.

Provocative Police

First Part:

A Kfar Saba court harshly criticized police tactics in Thursday’s raid on the Meoz Esther outpost in Samaria and freed five activists who were arrested for violence. The police disguised themselves as Arabs, a “provocative” action that incited the residents into stoning them, Magistrates Court Judge David Gadol ruled...He agreed with the defendants' attorney’s argument that the police tactics were even more provocative in light of the murder of two policemen by Arab terrorists in the nearby Jordan Valley two weeks ago.

“The police put their lives in danger once again,” Judge Keidar stated, rejecting police officials' arguments that that the officers had taken into account the danger of being targeted for driving in a car with Arab license plates and dressing up as Arabs. The car stopped at the community's gate, prompting the Jewish residents to fear they were planning a terrorist attack.

Second Part:

Gershon Mesika, head of the Shomron Regional Council, called on the police to appoint a commission of inquiry following an incident which took place three days ago at the Havat Gilad community.

Six residents were arrested on Thursday on suspicion of hurling stones at Arab vehicles and attempting to run over a police officer. After their arrest, however, the residents claimed that it was an act of provocation by the police.

And even Ynet had to reveal the story:

Settlers urge police to probe outpost incident

Knesset Member Arieh Eldad (National Union) said he planned to use his membership in the Knesset's temporary Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee in order to hold a special discussion on the matter.

The incident took place on Thursday afternoon, when six settlers were arrested on suspicion of hurling stones at Palestinian vehicles and attempting to run over police officer. After their arrest, however, settlers claimed that this was an act of provocation by the police.

The Kfar Saba Magistrate's Court released all the suspects and criticized the police, saying that the method of action used in the arrests put human life at risk.

According to the Shomron Regional Council head, "A vehicle carrying two Arabs, who may have been policemen disguised as Arabs, with a Palestinian license plate, infiltrated the Havat Gilad area and stood there with those people 'trying to fix a puncture in the car,' although all four wheels were intact and undamaged.

"This raised the suspicion of the farm's residents that this was an attempted terror attack like the one which took place in the Jordan Rift Valley," Mesika added, referring to a recent attack which left two police officers dead.

"After those two men responded to the questions with suspicious aggression and managed to reach the argument or conflict they sought to create, Special Patrol Unit officers who were hiding nearby emerged and attacked the residents with a great amount of violence and tear gas, including random people they ran across."

Therefore, Mesika stressed, a commission of inquiry must be appointed "and the incident must be thoroughly looked into.

...Yossi Dagan of the Homesh First organization strongly slammed the police, claiming that "the contemptible provocation by the Special Patrol Unit police officers proves once again that everything is permitted when trying to smear the residents of Judea and Samaria. Once again they proved that those who come to harm the settlement in the name of 'the rule of law' act as the biggest criminals.

"The question is why the police are forcefully trying to create a false pretence of violence in Havat Gilad, and what they wish to gain from this. The police officials who were behind this provocation must be dismissed. The police must compensate the residents of Havat Gilad who were badly beaten and arrested for nothing."

Police Police Brutality

No, the title is not in error.

Jameel at the Muqata drew my attention to this JPost story taken from AP:

Dozens of Israeli policemen have been injured by other officers during a training exercise simulating violent civil unrest.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld says about 45 officers sustained light injuries while practicing riot control techniques.

He says they were hurt while scuffling with each other.

Rosenfeld says five other officers were injured when a police van overturned. He said he could not confirm media reports that the vehicle flipped after a policeman fell asleep at the wheel.

What goes around, comes around.

Follow-up on That Police Brutality "Manual"

Following-up on this:-

Meir Indor, head of the Almagor organization for victims of terrorism, said Thursday that police mistreated him earlier in the week after arresting him in a protest in the Jabel Mukaber neighborhood of Jerusalem...

Indor said he was left handcuffed for one and a half hours in his cell, despite the fact that he was clearly unable to escape. He was strip-searched, allegedly in a search for illegal drugs, he said. In addition, he said, he was put in a cell with prisoners who smoked despite the fact that he informed officers that he suffers from asthma.

Even after he suffered an asthma attack, he said, police wanted to return him to the same cell. After several pleas and reminders of his condition, they put him on a mattress in the dining hall instead, without providing him with sheets...

The Illustrated Manual for Police Brutality

The New York Times is not usually a favorite of those of us who are, well, addicted to the news.

But there is always something to be thankful for, everyday. Like this picture which the paper used today:



It was taken by Sebastain Scheiner of the AP and is used here in an illustrative purpose.

It displays "Lesson #53" in the (fictitious) Police Manual for Methods of Applying Brutality.

Lesson #53 reads: "while your colleague(s) subdue a protestor, raise your right arm to his/her head level, take a step forward with your left foot, pretend to accidentally stumble, thus causing you to take a brisk and firm step forward with your right foot, thus causing your upraised right elbow to effectively smash into the protestors face. With any luck, you can even break his/her nose or at the very least, his/her glasses".

Other lessons:

#42 - When gently leading a protestor away, hold his/her hand in both of your and firmly press the his/her fingers together. With luck, you may crush a digit.

Like this:



and Lesson #77 - When carrying a demonstrator away, especially female, have two officers grab one leg each and then slowly separate as walking away.

Like this:



I found another legs version here:



And Maneuver #28, Twist Arm While Pressing Out Elbow here:-



Welcome to the Israeli Police, those guardians of civil rights and liberties.

This Too Happened During Bush's Visit

A.

Marvin and Ann Goodman were told they couldn't go to Har Herzl on their son's yartzeit because Bush would be in town.

Here's their post at the Efrat list:-

We originally planned to go to Yosef's kever on Friday morning which is the actual day of his yahrzeit and the signs we put up in the shuls stated we were going on that date. But-- Pres. Bush will be visiting Yad Va Shem on Friday morning at 9:30 and so we will not be able to go since all the roads will be closed off near Har Herzl.

We changed the aliyah le kever to Sunday morning at 10. A bus will be available in front to the Rav Tachliti at 8:45 to take people back and forth.

Pretty amazing not to be able to go to my son's kever on his yahrzeit because of George Bush.

--------------

B.

Below is my recollection and a couple of thoughts regarding the events of this evening. Welcome to Israel!

Having arrived on a Nefesh b'Nefesh flight less than two weeks ago, the following was the last thing I expected to happen during my first few weeks here:

Since President Bush was in town, it was decided by a number of lay and rabbinical leaders that it would be good idea to distribute the latest report from David Bedein's Center for Near East Policy Research to the press covering the President's visit. The report, Fatah as "Moderate" A Hard Look Post Annapolis, can be found on-line at: http://israelbehindthenews.com/pdf/ModerateFatah.pdf and was authored by Arlene Kushner.

At a National Council of Young Israel briefing by David Bedein last Friday attendees were asked to place themselves at various locations where the press was supposed to be to distribute literature and engage them in polite conversation about how Fatah and Abbas were not really the "moderate" alternative to Hamas.

I was assigned to Kikar Safra between 3PM and 5PM on Wednesday, January 9. This location is where the foreign press corps gets its security clearance. It appeared as if there were no more correspondents around so we decided to go to the Dan Panorama Hotel where the foreign press was staying. After President Bush's press conference we assumed that the correspondents would be returning to the hotel so we were in front with our literature when the police told us that we could not stand there and we should move to the corners which I did.

Approximately 20 minutes later a policeman comes down to the corner where I had been standing and taps me on the shoulder asks me for my teudat zehut and tells me to come with him. He then told me to get into the police car with Yehudit Dassberg, a terror victim, and Susie Dym, spokesperson for Mattot Arim, two colleagues who were there for the same purpose. They did not tell me at the time why I was being taken in but Susie told me in the car that they found the material either seditious or inciteful -- I am not sure which. Later it became apparent that they claimed we were creating a public nuisance. Nothing could be further from the truth. I was standing on a street corner quietly minding my own business, following the instructions of another police officer.

We were brought to the police station at the Russian Compound and told to stay in a waiting room. I, not being totally fluent in Ivrit yet, allowed Susie to do all the talking. We called David Bedein and Rabbi Aaron Tirschwell and they in turn made a number of calls and we were released after being held for approximately 40 minutes. At no time were we questioned or asked to sign anything. The police said absolutely nothing to me and I said nothing to them.

I learned later from Susie that she was listed as an "arrest" while Yehudit and I were ONLY "detained." I am struck by the police's total arbitrary and capricious behavior in this incident. After having read and heard about these types of police actions, and now having experienced it first-hand, I can only say that I am saddened by the fact that the police force of the Jewish State employs tactics which are unethical in the extreme and still has the gall to call itself a democratic country where the rule of law prevails. Granted at 60 years old, the country may still be young, relatively speaking, but it still has a long way to go before it reaches minimum standards of respect for a citizen's civil rights -- even a brand new citizen.

Regretfully yours,
Jeff Daube

-------------------------

When Arrested, Be Careful

As a precautionary follow-up to Nadia Matar's story, please pay attention of what not to do:-

A woman late to her plane became irate, was put in handcuffs and was later found dead in a holding cell, police said. Authorities were investigating Saturday if the woman choked herself while trying to get free from the handcuffs.

Carol Ann Gotbaum, 45, of New York, was arrested Friday at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport after a conflict with gate crews who refused to allow her to board a plane, said Sgt. Andy Hill, a Phoenix police spokesman.

Officers handcuffed her and took her to the holding room, where she kept screaming, authorities said. Hill said officers checked on her when she stopped screaming and found her unresponsive.

Hill said it appears Gotbaum may have tried to get out of her handcuffs, became tangled in the process and the cuffs ended up around her neck.

Source.

Police Violence at Eitam

From Laura Ben-David's account:-

People were coming and going. Early on we met a distraught woman on her way back. She said that they had made it to the end, and her husband was holding an Israeli flag. One soldier allegedly pushed her husband, and then it seemed to be open-season on this man as a number of other soldiers jumped in to attack him, after which the man was arrested - all for holding an Israeli flag.

A bit further on I watched four border policemen drag someone away. I had no idea what he had or had not done to warrant such excessive force. Maybe he was passively resisting? Or maybe he was a dangerous criminal? That seemed rather unlikely though.

Moshe, a 15 year old from Chashmonaim, had a very difficult time. When he and his friends reached the final hill of Eitam, he spoke to some of the soldiers there, explaining the importance for every Jew to settle the Land of Israel. A border policeman, whose name, ironically, was Arafat, started cursing them and pushing. The boys weren't looking for a fight. They were speaking nicely with one of the Yassam officers, when this man allegedly said, "I'm sick of being nice" and started to choke Moshe, while covering his mouth. Four Yassam officers reportedly joined in, and threw him onto a bus. When Moshe protested further brutal action toward someone else, the officer punched him in the face, used pressure points in his ear to cause pain, cursed at him. Finally, other cops pulled his attacker off the bus. However, soon afterwards several Yassam officers got back on the bus, pushed the border policemen who was protecting him out of the way, and proceeded to pull his tzizit, choking him, and kicking him. All the while Moshe was yelling, "I surrender, I surrender! I didn't do anything!"

Despite how terrible these reports seemed, I was determined to try to see this event through the eyes of the soldiers and officers. I desperately wanted to understand. I therefore tried talking to many of the various security personnel on the scene. I wanted to know - did it torment them to have to prevent their fellow Jews from their struggle to preserve the Jewish quality of the Land of Israel? Most were pretty tight-lipped. One of the border policemen put it this way: "This is a restricted area, no civilians are allowed. There are hostile villages here."

"Yes," I told him, "I understand. But how do you feel about doing this?"

"I don't feel. I do my orders."

I tried several other officers. One told me that he can't speak to me while in uniform, that he has a job. I suggested that I speak to him later, when he is off-duty, and he said, "Later, I just want to go home."

I couldn't help but wonder: Does the army consist solely of battalions, or of individuals too? Where should the individual end and the establishment begin? Can they coexist? Must we lose our humanity to be part of the establishment?

The current "establishment" seems to have completely sold-out on the pioneers of Israel. What was Zionism, patriotism and nationalistic spirit, is now patently illegal. Criminal activity. Our soldiers - OUR SOLDIERS! - have been charged with stopping us in our tracks. Maybe even to threaten us and hurt us. Sometimes they do. But not always.

© Laura Ben David. 2007
By Laura Ben David, Neve Daniel
E-mail: bendavid.laura@gmail.com

So, They Were Evil

So, they really were evil.

POLICE INSTRUCTED TO USE FORCE IN HOUSE DEMOLITIONS

JERUSALEM -- Israeli police underwent special training for an assault on thousands of protesters during the demolition of nine homes in a Jewish community in the West Bank in 2006.
A senior Israeli police officer testified that 1,300 troops were told to club, trample and gas protesters, most of them teenagers, who sought to block the demolition of nine unlicensed Jewish homes in Amona in February 2005. The troops, who trained for up to four days, used clubs and horses to injure 300 protesters, some of them seriously, despite the assessment that resistance would be passive.
"Special emphasis was placed on the population that we were going to confront," Yuval Goldstein, a brigade commander of the Border Police, said.
In testimony to the Jerusalem Magistrates Court on June 18, Goldstein recalled the assault by 6,000 mounted police, anti-riot police and army troops at Amona. The force stormed the 5,000 demonstrators, who stood or sat with arms linked outside the houses slated for demolition.
Goldstein was testifying at the trial of police officer Eyal Fero. Fero was charged with aggravated assault of a reserve army colonel, Mordechai Yogev, who sought to persuade the young protesters to leave the homes.
Two Knesset members were also injured in the police operation -- which took place six months after the Israeli expulsion of 16,000 Jews from Gaza Strip and northern West Bank. Twenty officers were wounded as well, one of them by a brick thrown by protesters from the roof of a home.
At Fero's trial, Goldstein said the eviction force was instructed on methods to subdue the demonstrators. A 14-year police veteran, Goldstein said the methods, instructed by a general, ranged from shoving protesters to the use of clubs, horses, tear gas and water cannons.
"We expected passive resistance but this was different from the Disengagement [Israeli expulsion]," Goldstein said. "There were electric poles, building bars, sharp nails and paint. We had to isolate the area and make it sterile. We were supposed to have arrived when only the people were in the houses.
Yogev testified that he arrived at Amona to prevent youngsters from injury. He said Fero struck him in the stomach with a club and kept hitting him when he fell to the floor.
"I never expected such police brutality," Yogev, who served 23 years in an army commando unit, said.
Prior to the assault, Yogev recalled hearing girls scream "Save us" from a house 10 meters away. He said he wanted to enter the house to ensure that the protesters would be led to safety.
"But before I could speak, I was surrounded by border police," Yogev said. "I didn't manage to finish what I was saying and he [Fero] hit me a number of times in the stomach. Then I asked him why he was doing this and he hit me again.
Fero denied clubbing Yogev. He said he pushed the reserve colonel when he refused to leave.
"I pushed him [Yogev] in the chest," Fero said. "And then I returned to the wall [of policemen]."
Judge Haim Li-Ran asked Fero why he thought Yogev issued the complaint. Fero, who served in the Border Police as part of his compulsory military service, said Yogev represented a Jewish settler who sought to blackmail Israeli society
"This is the kind of perception," Fero said. "They [the settlers] take a ride on our backs. They get some more money and stop more evictions."
In a separate case, another police officer also testified that he was ordered to use his horse to assault Amona protesters. David Edri, charged with aggravated assault, allegedly trampled and injured a protester.
At first, Edri denied that he saw Yehuda Etzion, the injured protester who issued the complaint. Later, the officer, who said he was ordered to gallop into the crowd of protesters, admitted he saw Etzion and tried to steer his horse away from him.
"The officers told me to enter [the crowd of protesters]," Edri told the Jerusalem Magistrates Court on June 10. "We had permission from Zevulun Hadar [officer] to use all the paces [trot, canter and gallop]."

And the "peace camp" incites them to violence!

Never Too Late

It's never too late to deal with police brutality. Those of us with long memories can recall the Rabin-era behavior of German-trained Israeli police and recently, at Amona, among other unfortunate incidents.

Look what happened in Los Angeles:-

A top Los Angeles police official has been demoted and his deputy reassigned after officers under their command attacked demonstrators at an immigration rally, the city's mayor and police chief said Monday.

Lee Carter, the deputy chief in charge of LAPD's central bureau, was demoted a grade to commander and put on paid leave, Police Chief William Bratton announced.

Carter's second-in-command, Cmdr. Lou Gray, was moved out of that job "pending further reassignment by the chief," Bratton said.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa ordered a "comprehensive, open review" of the incident after demonstrators and journalists raised allegations of excessive force.

"We're not going to shift the responsibility down the chain of command," Villaraigosa said Monday.

"Accountability begins at the top. What happened on May 1 was wrong, and we're taking immediate action to address it."

Villaraigosa said most police serve "with distinction and honor," but he promised that every "breakdown" in the May 1 rally would be reviewed.

Bratton said officers fired nearly 240 rounds of rubber bullets against participants in the May 1 rally, one of many held across the country in support of legislation that would allow illegal immigrants to eventually earn legal status.

Video showed police shoving and swinging clubs at participants in the rally and some have said they plan to sue the officers.