First, a brief introduction. On 4 Cheshvan (6 November), the prosecutor was supposed to bring their star witness, Dr. Abed Halim El-Fara. Dr. El-Fara is the Arab doctor in the Khan Yunis hospital who treated the alleged victim of my alleged shooting, Nasser Wafi. Dr. El-Fara's testimony was deemed to be crucial: he is both an eye-witness to the gunshot injury, and also an expert witness.
But there were two problems with this witness. The first was that he failed to arrive. The prosecutor explained that even though he had all the necessary documents to come to the Erez Crossing from Gaza into the State of Israel, the police - for some unexplained reason - did not manage to bring him.
No matter, said Her Honour, Judge Rachel Barka'i. Bring him in three days' time, 7 Cheshvan (9 November). But that, she warned the prosecuting attorney, is the last chance she is giving. If he fails to show up, then the prosecution will have to forgo their witness.
An extra three days in jail isn't all that long - at least, not after almost five months. But on the 9th of November (incidentally, the anniversary of Kristallnacht, the UN resolution of 1975 that "Zionism is Racism", and of the destruction of Havat Ma'on in 2000, when Ehud Barak was prime minister), Dr. El-Fara again failed to appear.
No matter, said Her Honour. Bring him to the next hearing, which we will set for 19 Cheshvan (21 November). But that, she warned the prosecuting attorney, is absolutely the last chance she is giving. If he fails to show up then, then the prosecutor will really have to forgo their witness.
An extra ten days in jail isn't all that long - at least, not after five months. And sure enough on 19 Cheshvan (21 November; two days ago, as I am writing this), the good doctor finally showed up. However, the accused - that is, me - failed to appear. And thereby hangs a tale.
I am currently held in Ma'asiyahu Prison, on the outskirts of Ramle (about three miles from Ben-Gurion Airport); my trial is being held in the Be'er Sheva District Court. The distance by road from Ramle to Be'er Sheva is approximately 60 miles, and in an ordinary car, takes about an hour, maybe an hour and a half. You might think, then, that leaving Ma'asiyahu Prison in time to arrive at the courthouse in Be'er Sheva by 9:30 in the morning is fairly simple.
But in the Israeli Prison Service, nothing is ever that simple. The total journey time is typically about seven hours. Why, you ask? Well, I won't bore you with the details, but suffice it to say that what with being searched three times before boarding the vehicle, having the vehicle searched before leaving, again before entering two other jails on the way, again inside each jail, again after leaving each jail, the driver and armed guards needing a meal break in the middle - it would be quicker to do the journey on the back of a camel. Actually, I am relatively lucky: prisoners who are transported over longer distances are routinely held in the vehicle for twenty hours, twenty-five hours, with hand-cuffs and leg-shackles, with no opportunity to eat, drink or relieve themselves. But I digress.
Since the hearing was set for a Monday, the Prison Service should have transported me to Be'er Sheva the day before, on Sunday, so that I would be in court on time. But, with the efficiency of the Keystone Cops, and almost as much professionalism, they forgot. I called the guards' attention to this oversight on Sunday morning, giving the Prison Service over 20 hours' notice to transport me 60 miles. (I could have walked it on foot.)
I was told to be ready to leave at 5:30 Monday morning. Sure enough, I left at 5:30 in the morning, and arrived at the Be'er Sheva District Court eight hours later, at 1:30 in the afternoon - four hours after the hearing was scheduled to begin.
Her Honour was slightly put out; but no matter, the proceedings began.
And then the second problem with the prosecution's witness, Dr. Abed Halim El-Fara, came to light. Under cross-examination from my lawyer, Baruch Ben-Yosef, Dr. El-Fara admitted that he did not, in fact, treat the shooting "victim", Nasser Wafi. In fact, he is not even a specialist in gunshot injuries; he is the general practitioner who worked in the reception area when Nasser Wafi was admitted. He insisted that he saw the injury, but did not ascertain - in fact, he did not even attempt to ascertain - if it was a gunshot injury or not.
So, I had sat in jail for more than two weeks just to give the prosecution the opportunity to bring a witness who was not a witness, who testified that he could not testify, and to hear an expert who was not an expert.
Then came my turn on the stand. My lawyer led me briefly through my version of what happened on that Shabbat five months ago; then, the lawyer for the prosecution began to cross-examine me.
She began, but didn't get very far. Her Honour, the judge, pointed out that the hour was late - already 4:00 in the afternoon. The hearing had started four hours late, so it was impossible to finish that day.
Now, to any reasonable person, this sounds utterly outrageous. The Prison Service had forgotten to get me to Be'er Sheva on the correct day; with twenty hours to go, they did not manage to transport me to 60 miles to Be'er Sheva; and the prosecuting attorney estimated that she needed no more than one hour to complete her cross-examination. But for Her Honour Rachel Barka'i, that one hour was non-negotiable; far more efficient to keep me in jail until the next hearing.
And the date of that next hearing? 14 Kislev (15 December).
Well, no matter. An extra three-and-a-half-weeks in jail isn't all that long - at least, not after almost six months.
But there were two problems with this witness. The first was that he failed to arrive. The prosecutor explained that even though he had all the necessary documents to come to the Erez Crossing from Gaza into the State of Israel, the police - for some unexplained reason - did not manage to bring him.
No matter, said Her Honour, Judge Rachel Barka'i. Bring him in three days' time, 7 Cheshvan (9 November). But that, she warned the prosecuting attorney, is the last chance she is giving. If he fails to show up, then the prosecution will have to forgo their witness.
An extra three days in jail isn't all that long - at least, not after almost five months. But on the 9th of November (incidentally, the anniversary of Kristallnacht, the UN resolution of 1975 that "Zionism is Racism", and of the destruction of Havat Ma'on in 2000, when Ehud Barak was prime minister), Dr. El-Fara again failed to appear.
No matter, said Her Honour. Bring him to the next hearing, which we will set for 19 Cheshvan (21 November). But that, she warned the prosecuting attorney, is absolutely the last chance she is giving. If he fails to show up then, then the prosecutor will really have to forgo their witness.
An extra ten days in jail isn't all that long - at least, not after five months. And sure enough on 19 Cheshvan (21 November; two days ago, as I am writing this), the good doctor finally showed up. However, the accused - that is, me - failed to appear. And thereby hangs a tale.
I am currently held in Ma'asiyahu Prison, on the outskirts of Ramle (about three miles from Ben-Gurion Airport); my trial is being held in the Be'er Sheva District Court. The distance by road from Ramle to Be'er Sheva is approximately 60 miles, and in an ordinary car, takes about an hour, maybe an hour and a half. You might think, then, that leaving Ma'asiyahu Prison in time to arrive at the courthouse in Be'er Sheva by 9:30 in the morning is fairly simple.
But in the Israeli Prison Service, nothing is ever that simple. The total journey time is typically about seven hours. Why, you ask? Well, I won't bore you with the details, but suffice it to say that what with being searched three times before boarding the vehicle, having the vehicle searched before leaving, again before entering two other jails on the way, again inside each jail, again after leaving each jail, the driver and armed guards needing a meal break in the middle - it would be quicker to do the journey on the back of a camel. Actually, I am relatively lucky: prisoners who are transported over longer distances are routinely held in the vehicle for twenty hours, twenty-five hours, with hand-cuffs and leg-shackles, with no opportunity to eat, drink or relieve themselves. But I digress.
Since the hearing was set for a Monday, the Prison Service should have transported me to Be'er Sheva the day before, on Sunday, so that I would be in court on time. But, with the efficiency of the Keystone Cops, and almost as much professionalism, they forgot. I called the guards' attention to this oversight on Sunday morning, giving the Prison Service over 20 hours' notice to transport me 60 miles. (I could have walked it on foot.)
I was told to be ready to leave at 5:30 Monday morning. Sure enough, I left at 5:30 in the morning, and arrived at the Be'er Sheva District Court eight hours later, at 1:30 in the afternoon - four hours after the hearing was scheduled to begin.
Her Honour was slightly put out; but no matter, the proceedings began.
And then the second problem with the prosecution's witness, Dr. Abed Halim El-Fara, came to light. Under cross-examination from my lawyer, Baruch Ben-Yosef, Dr. El-Fara admitted that he did not, in fact, treat the shooting "victim", Nasser Wafi. In fact, he is not even a specialist in gunshot injuries; he is the general practitioner who worked in the reception area when Nasser Wafi was admitted. He insisted that he saw the injury, but did not ascertain - in fact, he did not even attempt to ascertain - if it was a gunshot injury or not.
So, I had sat in jail for more than two weeks just to give the prosecution the opportunity to bring a witness who was not a witness, who testified that he could not testify, and to hear an expert who was not an expert.
Then came my turn on the stand. My lawyer led me briefly through my version of what happened on that Shabbat five months ago; then, the lawyer for the prosecution began to cross-examine me.
She began, but didn't get very far. Her Honour, the judge, pointed out that the hour was late - already 4:00 in the afternoon. The hearing had started four hours late, so it was impossible to finish that day.
Now, to any reasonable person, this sounds utterly outrageous. The Prison Service had forgotten to get me to Be'er Sheva on the correct day; with twenty hours to go, they did not manage to transport me to 60 miles to Be'er Sheva; and the prosecuting attorney estimated that she needed no more than one hour to complete her cross-examination. But for Her Honour Rachel Barka'i, that one hour was non-negotiable; far more efficient to keep me in jail until the next hearing.
And the date of that next hearing? 14 Kislev (15 December).
Well, no matter. An extra three-and-a-half-weeks in jail isn't all that long - at least, not after almost six months.