Arrested two months ago during the violent dismantling of a Jewish settlement site, Rivka Meirchik is still in prison. She refuses to cooperate with the courts, and says the police beat her.

Ms. Meirchik, 29, was arrested on April 2 in Shvut Ami near Kedumim.  The neighborhood was first built by Jewish pioneers last September, together with several others in various parts of Judea and Samaria.  Shvut Ami was the last to be destroyed by police and army forces, remaining on the ground for over a week.  Several activists were arrested when police came to take it down, and two teenaged boys were beaten by police in the police station, according to the Yesha Civil Rights organization headed by Orit Strook.

Since then, Shvut Ami has been rebuilt and demolished some six times, and pioneer activists continue to vow to return and establish a permanent Jewish presence there.

Meirchik and the Land of Israel

Meirchik, jailed in the N'vei Tirza women's prison, is charged with trespassing, assaulting a police office and disobeying military orders after the area was proclaimed a closed military zone. She maintains that she was beaten by police, but refuses to recognize the authority of the court to try her. Rivka similarly refuses to accept conditions for her release - such as paying a bond and agreeing to restrictive terms - imposed by a court system that she perceives to be working against Jewish rights in the Land of Israel. 

Rivka Meirchik is not the only female to choose to remain in prison of late for these reasons. This past March, 18 year-old Tzvia Sariel was released from N'vei Tirza after having been held there for over four months. She was freed only after she was tried and found innocent of all charges.

Similarly, this past January, seven teenage girls were released after being held for three weeks in N'vei Tirza without trial. The 13- and 14-year-olds had been arrested during an evacuation of the Givat HaOr settlement site near Beit El, and also refused to cooperate with the authorities.

Meirchik's Court Experiences

Meirchik has been in court a few times - always in hand and leg cuffs.  On April 14, Kfar Saba Magistrates Court Judge Nava Bechor refused to allow her to remove the cuffs.  A week later, another judge in the same court, Clara Rejiniano, ordered Meirchik's continued custody until the end of judicial proceedings against her. 

Last week, Judge Rejiniano sent Meirchik back to jail for yet another month, deeming her refusal to cooperate with authorities an ideological crime. "The law allows me to keep a person nine months. These are legal decisions which we must respect." Rejiniano has scheduled the next hearing for June 19.

Meirchik appeared to be weak and frail during her latest court appearance.  She is kept mainly in solitary confinement, and is not allowed the customary phone and visitation rights.

Trial Likely to be Lengthy

The prosecution plans to call a witness to testify about Arab land claims to the Shvut Ami property. Defense attorney Aviad Visoly asked that Meirchik be released from future hearings, as the cross-examination of the witness is likely be detailed and protracted, and Meirchik has already spent close to two months in prison.

Visoli later said he would appeal to the Supreme Court to have Meirchik released immediately. He said it is not a crime under Israeli law to not recognize court authority of the court.  "It's shocking," Visoli said. "Keeping her in custody until the end of proceedings is simply illegal."

Another Campaign Gears Up

Organizations such as Women in Green, which have been in the forefront of campaigns to free other Jewish political prisoners, note that major Israeli media have barely reported on the Meirchik "travesty of justice."  The grassroots activists are attempting to garner public support for Meirchik, and ask that supporters in the U.S. "telephone - rather than e-mail -  the Israeli Embassy or the Israeli consulate nearest you and demand to know why Rivka is still in prison. The embassy's phone number [in Washington, D.C.] is 202-364-5500." 

Supporters are also asked to call Congressmen, as well as the State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, and demand an investigation. The State Department's main numbers are 202-647-4000 and 1-800-877-8339.