A United Nations judge in Kosovo proffers veiled criticism of Israel’s treatment of its citizens in distress.

The story involves the arrest or detention of four Israelis in Kosovo on charges of participating in the sale of a kidney from a live donor to an elderly dialysis patient. The transplant operation succeeded, but the recipient of the kidney, his wife, his son and the man who mediated the sale were all taken into police custody.

Attorney Mordechai Tzivin, who specializes in helping Israelis in various legal troubles in foreign countries, agreed to take on the case. “We were able to get the parents released after only two weeks,” Tzivin told IsraelNationalNews, “but their son and the middleman, Moshe Harel, were originally not set free. In general, it is a crime to purchase organs from live donors, but invariably, the recipient and the donor are not punished very harshly, if at all. Rather, the mediators of the sale receive the full brunt. That’s what happened here as well.”

The operation was performed by a famous Turkish doctor who is wanted by the Interpol for having carried out this operation many times before. The patient, 75-year-old Betzalel Shafran from Ashdod, was hospitalized in the clinic – which, Tzivin says, “received its forged license from the former Deputy Health Minister of Kosovo.” Three days later, police raided the place and arrested the four. The doctor was not around to be arrested.

Thanks to the Israeli Embassy in nearby Belgrade, the patient spent the next 11 days under guard in a hospital, until his release to Israel in mid-November. But Tzivin still faced the challenge of helping their son and Harel. The results can be read in the rulings of the United Nations pre-trial judge, named Vinod Boolell, who heard the request for their early release. Regarding the son:

“Having considered the request of the Defense Counsel, the Pre-trial Judge takes the view that the defendant should be exceptionally allowed to visit his ailing father, as he has always complied with the order made and there does not appear to be a risk of him absconding.”

Judge Voolell noted that the defendant had stated that he had expected the Israeli Foreign Office to show an interest in his case, but that this was not done. The judge quoted Attorney Tzivin as having said, “I [contacted] the Legal Department of the Foreign Office in [the defendant’s] name ten times... [He also] personally contacted [them] and the Embassy in Belgrade several times, but did not receive any response.”

Regarding this, Judge Voolell wrote:

“Though it is not the function of the Pre-trial Judge to pass any comment on the Foreign Office or any embassy of Israel, nonetheless the Pre-trial Judge finds it odd that Israel did not respond to the query of the defendant.”
Regarding the case of Moshe Har’el, Judge Voolell accepted Tzivin’s argument that religious mourning rituals are important:
"The Pre-trial Judge is mindful of the personal situation of the defendant, who invokes the fact that his mother passed away on 9 November 2008 and that he has to attend some religious rituals in that connection. The Pre-trial Judge considers that this is a humanitarian consideration that should weigh heavily in favor of granting the authorization.”
Yeshiva Boys in Japan

Attorney Tzivin, of Kfar Chabad, is currently the legal counsel for young yeshiva boys imprisoned in Japan for having brought in a suitcase they said they thought was filled with books, but which really contained narcotic pills.

Though Tzivin is gratified that the Kosovo case has taken a positive turn – the four Israelis have been released, despite the legal complexities of Kosovo’s legal system - it is far from over, and both the son and Har’el are expected to return to Kosovo at the end of this month.

If the two Israelis do not return, Tzivin was asked, what would be the next step? Tzivin noted that Kosovo does not have an extradition treaty with Israel – “or with any country in the world, for that matter” -- but that the Israelis' fate "would depend on whether they are found to be in violation of Kosovo’s law, or of international law. That depends on the status ascribed to the UN judges who now arbitrate various issues in the entity of Kosovo.”

Tzivin Accuses the Foreign Ministry

Attorney Tzivin is miffed at the Legal Department of Israel’s Foreign Ministry, saying it both lied and did not offer help when necessary.

“Not only did the Foreign Ministry not make an official request to the relevant authorities, as it was expected to do, but it also lied on at least two occasions in this case,” he said.

Tzvi Rebner, who heads the Foreign Ministry’s Eastern Europe Department, denied the charges, and stated in response that his office had intervened in the humanitarian aspects, “but in the judicial issues, we gave the appropriate response.”

Tzivin says that Israel need not intervene in other countries’ internal or judicial affairs, “but this is not true in the case of danger to life or other humanitarian issues, such as was the case here.”