Policeman Eran Naim, who was filmed by an Arutz-7 cameraman being exceptionally violent during an anti-Disengagement protest in 2005, will have to pay his victim 25,000 shekels – from his own pocket.
The incident occurred on June 29, 2005, several weeks before the expulsion/withdrawal from GK, and during the height of nationwide anti-Disengagement protests. In the words of Arutz-7 cameraman Tuvia Lerner, whose footage of the incident enabled the conviction, "I saw a cruel, shocking and pre-meditated attack by policemen" against a protestor taking part in a road-blocking in Ramat Gan. He said that despite attempts by the police to hide the violence by standing tightly around the victim, he managed to film it on an amateur digital camera.
Nationwide Tensions
The incident occurred amidst nationwide tension surrounding the Disengagement. That week, the Cabinet decided to reject a proposal to postpone the expulsion for three months, the media was replete with reports of a near-murder of an Arab in Gaza by protestors that later turned out to be nothing more than an exchange of rock-throwings, and dozens of protestors were arrested in many different incidents.
In May 2007, Naim was convicted, in the words of presiding Judge Chanan Efrati, of "sticking his fingers in the nostrils of the passive demonstrator and pulling his head backwards with his fingers still in his nostrils." Lerner was more graphic, saying, "He stuck his fingers into the man's nostrils and pulled upwards and backwards in a fast and professional way, and tore his whole face, including a blow at his eyes. I realized that I had incriminating material in my camera. I saw how nervous and angry [another policeman there] was, in his fear that I might have managed to catch the act on my camera despite the wall of policemen blocking it, and he continued to threaten to arrest me. That's why I did not photograph officer Eran Naim when he walked aside to wipe off his hands that were filled with the blood of the demonstrator; I didn't want to take a chance on losing the material that I already had."
The victim, 20-year-old Akiva Vitkin, later said that Naim "poked his fingers very strongly into my nose up and down - on two different occasions - and it felt as if he was trying to push my nose into my skull. It hurt terribly. And another one poked my eyes very strongly. They handcuffed me and dragged me to the truck, and then to the police station. I asked for medical assistance, they said OK, but didn't give me…"
Fired From the Police, Sentenced to Public Service
Naim's defense that his actions were standard police procedure for such situations was rejected, and he was fired from the police force and sentenced to six months of public service. Vitikin later filed a civil suit, via the Yesha (Judea and Samaria) Human Rights Organization.
By this point, the State authorities – which had been viewed with great distrust and animosity during the long period of the Disengagement and accompanying protests – distanced themselves from Officer Naim. The Prosecution even informed Naim and another policeman in a similar situation that they would have to pay whatever fine was levied upon them from their own pockets.
"We are responsible for policemen's violence only when this is done with the proper authority and for the objectives set out by the police," the Prosecution wrote. "But [we do not stand behind] criminal activity that negate the purpose of the policeman's very job."
Naim: Acting In and Out of the Courtroom
Naim nearly aroused the court's sympathy, after not responding to the civil suit until a final warning had been issued to him, when he wrote that he was nearly bankrupt and given to suicidal tendencies. However, it was later revealed that Naim, in fact, was in the midst of a new career, as an actor playing the role of the "good cop" in the film Ajami.
Vitkin expressed shock, telling Channel Two television, "Choosing him for that role is like choosing a rapist to act in a movie about rape… He tried to take cynical advantage of mine and the judges' good-heartedness."
Having narrowly escaped being fooled, Tel Aviv Magistrates Court Judge Yael Henig fined Naim over 25,000 shekels, to be paid within a week to Vitkin.