Hundreds of supporters of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane stood outside a Jerusalem hall last night to hold a spontaneous memorial ceremony for him, despite a Supreme Court ruling forbidding a similar ceremony inside the hall. The police used clubs and indiscriminately hit men, women, and children to disperse the gathering, and arrested six people. One participant, Hagi Ben-Artzi, told Arutz-7,
\"We were hundreds of people, standing outside the hall, conducting a memorial ceremony for Rabbi Kahane, may Hashem avenge his blood. There were speeches by rabbis and public figures, and the crowd was behaving perfectly. Suddenly, from out of the blue, without any provocation, tens of special-unit policemen swarmed down on the crowd, and started punching and kicking and used violence that can simply not be described. I was shocked. I simply could not understand why the Israel Police was doing this to people participating in a painful memorial, who had caused no public disturbance at all.\"
Deputy Public Security Minister Gideon Ezra criticized the decision not to allow the memorial for Rabbi Meir Kahane. He told Arutz-7 today that it was not the police that objected to the memorial, but rather Attorney-General Elyakim Rubenstein who ordered its banning.
MK Michael Kleiner (Herut) addressed the crowd, reaping praise for his courage in coming to an event that most politicians prefer not to be associated with. He extolled Rabbi Kahane for \"analyzing the situation correctly, identifying it before anyone else... He was a true patriot, a true Jew... He did not know the meaning of fear. He waged an unceasing struggle on behalf of Soviet Jewry, and refused to soften his positions whatsoever in order to find favor with the Israeli establishment...\" Kleiner showed courage of a different type when, later in his speech, he objected to the use of the slogan, \"No Arabs - No Terrorism.\"
The Supreme Court had ruled that the ceremony was organized by a \"terrorist group,\" Kach. Kahane family members maintained that *they* were behind the memorial for their father, but the Court did not agree. Attorney Naftali Wurzberger said that the police were engaged in \"shutting mouths, which is not their job in a democratic state. The criteria for shutting down an event must be actions, not opinions expressed there.\"
\"We were hundreds of people, standing outside the hall, conducting a memorial ceremony for Rabbi Kahane, may Hashem avenge his blood. There were speeches by rabbis and public figures, and the crowd was behaving perfectly. Suddenly, from out of the blue, without any provocation, tens of special-unit policemen swarmed down on the crowd, and started punching and kicking and used violence that can simply not be described. I was shocked. I simply could not understand why the Israel Police was doing this to people participating in a painful memorial, who had caused no public disturbance at all.\"
Deputy Public Security Minister Gideon Ezra criticized the decision not to allow the memorial for Rabbi Meir Kahane. He told Arutz-7 today that it was not the police that objected to the memorial, but rather Attorney-General Elyakim Rubenstein who ordered its banning.
MK Michael Kleiner (Herut) addressed the crowd, reaping praise for his courage in coming to an event that most politicians prefer not to be associated with. He extolled Rabbi Kahane for \"analyzing the situation correctly, identifying it before anyone else... He was a true patriot, a true Jew... He did not know the meaning of fear. He waged an unceasing struggle on behalf of Soviet Jewry, and refused to soften his positions whatsoever in order to find favor with the Israeli establishment...\" Kleiner showed courage of a different type when, later in his speech, he objected to the use of the slogan, \"No Arabs - No Terrorism.\"
The Supreme Court had ruled that the ceremony was organized by a \"terrorist group,\" Kach. Kahane family members maintained that *they* were behind the memorial for their father, but the Court did not agree. Attorney Naftali Wurzberger said that the police were engaged in \"shutting mouths, which is not their job in a democratic state. The criteria for shutting down an event must be actions, not opinions expressed there.\"