Yesterday evening, the emergency security and medical volunteers in the Benjamin Regional Council, met with the IDF and Home Front Guard to prepare them in case, G-d forbid, Israel is hit with an earthquake.
The IDF experts in major catastrophes who have literally gone to each earthquake site around the world to help rescue people, showed documentation of each catastrophe and talked about the realities of these horrific human disasters. They explained that although in each situation emergency rescue forces came to help, it was the first 24 hours that were critical and that the majority of survivors were rescued by simple people who passed by, who were in the area and jumped in to rescue them. Literally, in each disaster it was the simple people who happened to be there on the spot, who with no thought for themselves went to save lives of complete strangers.
Yesterday morning we were told how a passerby did exactly the opposite. Yesterday morning we again met at Opher Military Court for the trial of the Arab who witnessed the disaster of the murders of Asher and Yonatan Palmer z"l.
Shchada Aved Shchada Shata was driving on Highway 60 on Friday, September 23, 2011 when the terror attack that resulted in the murders of Asher and Yonatan caused Asher's car to crash down into a deep ditch, after a boulder thrown from a moving car hit the windshield.
Shchada stopped his car and climbed down from the highway to reach the car where it had crashed. Unlike the hundreds of volunteers who reached out to save the lives of earthquake victimes, he went into the bashed up car, violated the body of Asher z"l in order to find and steal Asher's gun and clip. He then hid it in his shirt, returned to his car and told his companions in the vehicle to speedily leave the scene of the crash.
Basic human compassion was what was missing. Shchada ignored the tragic scene and concentrated on his heartless criminal activities.
The defense is trying to explain that this is a person who has worked in Israel, is married with 8 children, the sole supporter of his family, some of whom are ill.
What does that have to do with his brutal, heartless actions following the terrible crime that he had witnessed? Even if he was unaware of the attack which ultimately resulted in the crash and the murders, how could any human being enter that car and ignore what he witnessed there- a young man and a small infant lying there dead?
The horror of his actions is beyond comprehension. He should pay the maximum penalty for them.
Last night I witnessed documentation of simple human compassion all over the world. In the case that was tried yesterday, human compassion was totally missing. Evil hatred was present when Shchada acted in the way that he did.
No excuse in the world changes the palpable evil that was present when he stole the gun and clip and violated Asher's body in order to do this.