The following imaginary letter to a judge was written by Sarah Feld in the name of her daughter, Tziporah, who spent three weeks in N'vei Tirtza prison following the anti-expulsion protests in Jerusalem. Tziporah is a second year student of dance at Orot in Elkana. She is presently awaiting trial in Jerusalem. The Felds live in Beit El.
An open letter to a judge.
I am charged with disturbing the public peace and beating up on the six police officers who tackled me to the ground.
There are hundreds of us, teens as young as12, or over-18s like myself, who are expected to appear in court on these or similar charges. Many of us have been in prison and/or house arrest awaiting our trials.
What I am really guilty of is believing that the expulsion of 10,000 Jews from their homes is a gross injustice to their civil and human rights. I believed these good families would become homeless, jobless and school-less. Today, three months later, this is, for most of them, their heartbreaking situation.
It was clearly evident that the vacuum left by the expulsion of Jews from Gaza and the northern Shomron would be filled by hordes of terrorists. Today, together with unlimited amounts of weapons and millions of bullets, Al-Qaeda has also come to Gaza through the abandoned Philadelphi route. In fact, through these deserted borders with Egypt, anyone and anything may have entered. And Israelis have already paid, and will continue to pay, a very heavy price for that.
It was obvious to any lucid thinker that citizens in Sderot, in the Negev, in Ashkelon and even the on the prime minister's Sycamore Ranch would become the new targets of Palestinian terror. We need look no further than the front page headlines of all major newspapers to confirm this.
In a symbolic gesture to urge the nation and government officials to stop their mad race into national catastrophe, many others and I took part in a democratically acceptable act of civil disobedience. I did not plan to, nor did I, use violence against anyone, even though, I was myself held with my arms twisted painfully by five policeman and a policewoman. One was smiling to himself even as I was thrown to the ground. I was imprisoned for three weeks, more than half of the time in the notorious women's prison N'vei Tirtza, and much of that time in isolation.
As has often been the case, blocking traffic or closing down airports to attain higher wages has not resulted in imprisonment. Both the first judge before whom I appeared and my 'parole officer' made it very clear that the law would be sternly interpreted for "ideological criminals".
To the honorable judge, as the events of these three months since the expulsion speak for themselves, I have one question for you. Who is really guilty of disturbing the public's peace? Who has created a state of terrorism at the edges of our new borders?
Even if you cannot answer 'the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth', perhaps to clear your conscience a bit, or perhaps as a 'goodwill gesture', you can dismiss the charges against us and clear our criminal records.
Personally, I am grappling with whether I can accept the judgment of a court that acts so blatantly anti-Jewishly and anti-Israeli.
And judge, you should remember that one day, you yourself will be judged by the Highest Court of all.
An open letter to a judge.
I am charged with disturbing the public peace and beating up on the six police officers who tackled me to the ground.
There are hundreds of us, teens as young as12, or over-18s like myself, who are expected to appear in court on these or similar charges. Many of us have been in prison and/or house arrest awaiting our trials.
What I am really guilty of is believing that the expulsion of 10,000 Jews from their homes is a gross injustice to their civil and human rights. I believed these good families would become homeless, jobless and school-less. Today, three months later, this is, for most of them, their heartbreaking situation.
It was clearly evident that the vacuum left by the expulsion of Jews from Gaza and the northern Shomron would be filled by hordes of terrorists. Today, together with unlimited amounts of weapons and millions of bullets, Al-Qaeda has also come to Gaza through the abandoned Philadelphi route. In fact, through these deserted borders with Egypt, anyone and anything may have entered. And Israelis have already paid, and will continue to pay, a very heavy price for that.
It was obvious to any lucid thinker that citizens in Sderot, in the Negev, in Ashkelon and even the on the prime minister's Sycamore Ranch would become the new targets of Palestinian terror. We need look no further than the front page headlines of all major newspapers to confirm this.
In a symbolic gesture to urge the nation and government officials to stop their mad race into national catastrophe, many others and I took part in a democratically acceptable act of civil disobedience. I did not plan to, nor did I, use violence against anyone, even though, I was myself held with my arms twisted painfully by five policeman and a policewoman. One was smiling to himself even as I was thrown to the ground. I was imprisoned for three weeks, more than half of the time in the notorious women's prison N'vei Tirtza, and much of that time in isolation.
As has often been the case, blocking traffic or closing down airports to attain higher wages has not resulted in imprisonment. Both the first judge before whom I appeared and my 'parole officer' made it very clear that the law would be sternly interpreted for "ideological criminals".
To the honorable judge, as the events of these three months since the expulsion speak for themselves, I have one question for you. Who is really guilty of disturbing the public's peace? Who has created a state of terrorism at the edges of our new borders?
Even if you cannot answer 'the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth', perhaps to clear your conscience a bit, or perhaps as a 'goodwill gesture', you can dismiss the charges against us and clear our criminal records.
Personally, I am grappling with whether I can accept the judgment of a court that acts so blatantly anti-Jewishly and anti-Israeli.
And judge, you should remember that one day, you yourself will be judged by the Highest Court of all.