IDF officers have been ordered to pay court costs from their own pockets after being sued for violating a Supreme Court order and destroying a civilian outpost. The defendants have not filed a defense, and the plaintiffs now expect that the Court will rule in their favor and award them the full amount of damages: more than 430,000 shekels ($115,000).
The story began in 1991, when a resident of the southern Shomron-Binyamin community of Dolev, Ya’ir Mendelson, was murdered by Palestinian terrorists. His neighbors wished to establish a community on the site of the murder, in keeping with the long-standing tradition of "a suitable Zionist response to terrorism.” It was ultimately decided to establish a military base there, named Yad Ya’ir, and in the coming years, a park, synagogue, and play center were also built on the site – under the watchful eyes of the army and at the initiative and dedication of residents of nearby Dolev and Talmon.
“For years,” said Meir Goldmintz, one of the prime forces in the cause, “the Yad Ya’ir group worked on building up a vibrant Jewish presence there: prayers, Torah classes, activities. A monument to Ya’ir was erected, as were a playground for children, a plaza, and a synagogue. Cakes and other foodstuffs were given out to soldiers on Purim and other occasions, and we lit Chanukah candles there. The high point was our yearly springtime event, in which hundreds of people would take part."
The army abandoned the site circa 2004, Goldmintz said, “after which began a period of constant Arab vandalism, which the army did not 'manage' to prevent. Over the course of time, the electric grid was destroyed, the synagogue was looted, the monument was defaced, and the synagogue was set ablaze no fewer than three times.
"Finally, after a group of radical leftists and Arabs set fire to the synagogue and even replaced the Israeli flags with PLO flags, we realized that we would have to do something - and we decided to start our own town there.” Meir, his wife Chana and their four children moved to the site, together with a group of students from Yeshivat Nachliel. “It required great self-sacrifice, as well as financial resources. The yeshiva helped out and held classes there, and nearby communities helped with fuel for the generator, guards and food for the yeshiva students. But we still had to deal with problems such as minimal housing conditions and getting back and forth to work and school”
After the army left, Meir emphasized, “we purchased the land from the Arab owners. It is our private property.”
Arab vandalism continued, however, and ultimately, in September 2008, IDF Division Commander Brig.-Gen. Noam Tivon ordered the site’s destruction. It took the IDF two days to do so, because the first time the army arrived, it called off the plans when it saw the size of the crowd standing ready to protect the town - some 300 Jews from nearby Jewish towns. Two days later, the army arrived in larger numbers and did the deed - even though word of a Supreme Court ruling to delay the action until 4 p.m. that day had already been received.
The army later claimed that the fax machine didn't work and that the order was not received until it was too late.
“Let’s assume this is true,” Goldmintz said. “So what? They knew that no demolition orders had ever been issued for my ‘house,’ and therefore it was illegal to destroy it; I had been there for well over the required 30-day period. In addition, there were some structures for which demolition orders had been issued – but we were promised a pre-destruction hearing, and the officers knew that no hearing had been held, so they knew that they were acting illegally.”
Furthermore, there exist recordings of phone conversations showing that the officers knew of the Supreme Court order not to destroy the site, but yet made every effort not to “receive” it – and continued their destruction even after it was officially received.
The plaintiffs also aver that much of their property could have been saved after the destruction: "The officers did not allow the Jews to enter the site and recover it, but did allow Arab marauders to loot and steal."
No Defense, Pay Court Costs
Goldmintz and others sued the army officers for the damage they caused, but Tivon and the others did not submit a defense. Finally, after four delays caused by the officers’ failure to respond to the suit, the court has now ordered each of them to pay 1,500 shekels in court costs.
Goldmintz now hopes and expects that they will be awarded the full sum of 430,000 shekels in damages for which they have sued. “The officers know why they didn’t submit a defense,” Goldmintz said, “because their actions are indefensible. They were in clear violation of the law.”
Soldiers Must Pay on Their Own
The IDF Spokesman announced, “It goes without saying that no officer will be forced to pay out of his own pocket because of the ruling.” It was not clear if this refers to the current ruling regarding the court costs, or to future rulings on the damages. If the latter, Mendelson says, “the army would be in violation of the law by paying for the damages. In general, IDF soldiers need not pay for their army actions if they were within the law – but this was not the case here, when they were clearly acting illegally, and therefore they must pay out of their own pockets.”
No announcement has been made as to the scheduling of the next court date for the trial.