Family members of 17 people murdered in the suicide bombing of the number 37 bus in Haifa last March appealed a plea-bargain reached between the district attorney and Munir Rajbi, the Israeli Arab who helped the suicide bomber carry out the massacre. The Haifa District Court rejected the appeal Sunday.
Munir Rajbi's brother, Hafez Rajbi, was one of the planners of the bloody bombing. He told Munir about the plan a few days before it took place. Munir, a resident of Haifa – often hailed as a bastion of Arab-Jewish coexistence – made no attempt to warn security forces. Days later, terrorist Mahmoud Kawasmi from Hevron, blew himself up on the number 37 bus as it reached Haifa’s Moriah Avenue, killing the 17 - including 12 aged 20 and under.
Rajbi pleaded guilty to the charge of “aiding and abetting the enemy at a time of war,” which carries with it a maximum sentence of death or life imprisonment. The families objected to the fact that the charge was reduced to exclude conspiracy to commit murder, and argued before the court that Rajbi should have been charged with 17 counts of conspiracy to commit murde as well.
The judges rejected the appeal, claiming the rights of the families had not been violated by the verdict, and noted that the charge Rajbi was convicted of was more serious than the one that had been dropped.
Several of the victims’ family members attempted to attack Rajbi during the trial, and many loudly berated his lawyer, Jamal Hatib. When arguments for sentencing were heard, a representative of each family spoke. Hagit Mendelovich, whose son Yuval, 13, was killed in the bombing, spoke first. Mendelovich said that Yuval was returning from painting scenery for a school play when he was murdered. "He called me from the bus and said that everything was fine, and then he called his father and said 'I love you.'"
"How many people remember the Moriah Avenue bombing,” said Mendelovich, reminding the court that 96 buses has been blown up by terrorists since the start of the Oslo War. “If you don't remember, it's because we have learned to be slaughtered - with no one to prevent it. What is the difference between the bus in which my son was murdered and the crematorium in Theresienstadt in which my grandparents were murdered? The buses are mobile crematoria for those who must use public transportation," she said.
Mendelovich expressed her disappointment in the lack of deterrence in Israel’s refusal to implement the death penalty. She asked the court to hand down a sentence that would both avenge and deter. "If the prosecution does not ask for the death penalty for reasons of its own, at least let this man never see the light of day again," she demanded.
Munir Rajbi's brother, Hafez Rajbi, was one of the planners of the bloody bombing. He told Munir about the plan a few days before it took place. Munir, a resident of Haifa – often hailed as a bastion of Arab-Jewish coexistence – made no attempt to warn security forces. Days later, terrorist Mahmoud Kawasmi from Hevron, blew himself up on the number 37 bus as it reached Haifa’s Moriah Avenue, killing the 17 - including 12 aged 20 and under.
Rajbi pleaded guilty to the charge of “aiding and abetting the enemy at a time of war,” which carries with it a maximum sentence of death or life imprisonment. The families objected to the fact that the charge was reduced to exclude conspiracy to commit murder, and argued before the court that Rajbi should have been charged with 17 counts of conspiracy to commit murde as well.
The judges rejected the appeal, claiming the rights of the families had not been violated by the verdict, and noted that the charge Rajbi was convicted of was more serious than the one that had been dropped.
Several of the victims’ family members attempted to attack Rajbi during the trial, and many loudly berated his lawyer, Jamal Hatib. When arguments for sentencing were heard, a representative of each family spoke. Hagit Mendelovich, whose son Yuval, 13, was killed in the bombing, spoke first. Mendelovich said that Yuval was returning from painting scenery for a school play when he was murdered. "He called me from the bus and said that everything was fine, and then he called his father and said 'I love you.'"
"How many people remember the Moriah Avenue bombing,” said Mendelovich, reminding the court that 96 buses has been blown up by terrorists since the start of the Oslo War. “If you don't remember, it's because we have learned to be slaughtered - with no one to prevent it. What is the difference between the bus in which my son was murdered and the crematorium in Theresienstadt in which my grandparents were murdered? The buses are mobile crematoria for those who must use public transportation," she said.
Mendelovich expressed her disappointment in the lack of deterrence in Israel’s refusal to implement the death penalty. She asked the court to hand down a sentence that would both avenge and deter. "If the prosecution does not ask for the death penalty for reasons of its own, at least let this man never see the light of day again," she demanded.