President Katzav is "inconvenienced" by a weekly protest a block away from his home, and the police have informed the demonstration organizers that they must hold their protests - aimed at Katzav himself - even further away.
The story began this past May when it was reported that President Moshe Katzav, Justice Minister Yosef (Tommy) Lapid, and Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz had begun - for the first time in the history of the State - to reduce the sentences of convicted terrorist murderers. Katzav and Lapid are handling the murderers who were convicted in civil courts, while Mofaz deals with those convicted in military courts. The move was initiated by Lapid, head of the ultra-secular Shinui Party, and will enable life sentences meted out in civil courts to be cut down to 40 years, rendering them eligible for the customary additional reduction of another third. In addition, the murderers will be allowed short "vacations" if they are not considered dangerous. Mofaz was tougher on "his" prisoners, cutting down the sentences to 50 or 60 years, rendering unlikely the possibility that the killers will be released.
Following the publication of this news, a group of concerned citizens began to conduct weekly protests outside the home of President Moshe Katzav in Kiryat Malachi. The idea was that of Yitzchak Pass, who wrote a letter to a group of relatives of terror victims and other Israelis, as follows:
"Dear Brothers and Sisters in Our Family of Bereavement, and the Entire Nation of Israel,
"Just over three years ago, my baby daughter Shalhevet was murdered by a Palestinian sniper in Hevron. Of late, the President and the Defense and Justice Ministers have decided to have mercy on the murderers of our children, and to lighten their sentences and even grant them vacations and early release. This, despite the fact that no one pressured them to do this."
After calling upon his readers to participate in the weekly protests, Pass concludes, "I'm sorry that I won't be able to participate myself for the coming six months, because the people who gave so many weapons to the murderers have convicted my brother-in-law Mati Shvo and myself of possessing illegal weapons, and threw us into jail for two years - and do not even allow us the vacations to which we are legally entitled."
Of late, the Honenu organization has been informed that the permits to demonstrate a block away from the President's home in Kiryat Malachi will not be renewed, as Katzav and his neighbors have complained about the invasion of privacy the demonstrations entail. The police, in a letter to Shmuel Meidad of the Honenu organization, a strong backer of the protests, explained that they would help find them an alternate site at which to protest.
Meidad, however, does not accept the police position. In a letter to the Southern Police Region's legal advisor, Meidad writes,
"By police request, we were kept one street away from the President's home, and we have honored this request. Recently, at what appears to be the President's request, you required us to hold the protest even further away from Mr. Katzav's home. [He himself recently told Yitzchak Pass and Mati Shvo that he feels their protest is legitimate, but] Mr. Katzav has now changed his mind... I am not subject to internal instructions to you by the Attorney-General. It is not directed to me, and is neither legal nor moral, and is certainly not democratic. Consequently, I do not intend to stop protesting against Mr. Katzav's collaboration with the murderers of our children. I protest the fact that you are using your authority to impose your will in a manner that brutally violates the law, while we, in contrast, have observed the law all along." In fact, a protest demonstration was held at the "regular" site last night, and the police did not intervene.
Meidad also noted that several weeks ago, he and another demonstrator were summoned for an investigation - and that the other person was even told to sign his consent not to come to Kiryat Malachi for 14 days. "Only because of his persistence in refusing to sign such a baseless order was it cancelled, and he was released immediately," Meidad notes.
In a related item, the Supreme Court rejected on Friday, Yom Kippur Eve, a request to hold a holiday prayer vigil outside the Shikmim Farm home of Prime Minister Sharon near Sderot. The Court ruled that there was not enough time to clarify the issues before the holiday. Atty. Baruch Ben-Yosef, who filed the request, reacted sharply: "If we were leftists, the judges would even come out in their pajamas to stand up for freedom of speech. They are afraid of the power of prayer, and fear that our prayers will nullify the evil decree of disengagement."
The story began this past May when it was reported that President Moshe Katzav, Justice Minister Yosef (Tommy) Lapid, and Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz had begun - for the first time in the history of the State - to reduce the sentences of convicted terrorist murderers. Katzav and Lapid are handling the murderers who were convicted in civil courts, while Mofaz deals with those convicted in military courts. The move was initiated by Lapid, head of the ultra-secular Shinui Party, and will enable life sentences meted out in civil courts to be cut down to 40 years, rendering them eligible for the customary additional reduction of another third. In addition, the murderers will be allowed short "vacations" if they are not considered dangerous. Mofaz was tougher on "his" prisoners, cutting down the sentences to 50 or 60 years, rendering unlikely the possibility that the killers will be released.
Following the publication of this news, a group of concerned citizens began to conduct weekly protests outside the home of President Moshe Katzav in Kiryat Malachi. The idea was that of Yitzchak Pass, who wrote a letter to a group of relatives of terror victims and other Israelis, as follows:
"Dear Brothers and Sisters in Our Family of Bereavement, and the Entire Nation of Israel,
"Just over three years ago, my baby daughter Shalhevet was murdered by a Palestinian sniper in Hevron. Of late, the President and the Defense and Justice Ministers have decided to have mercy on the murderers of our children, and to lighten their sentences and even grant them vacations and early release. This, despite the fact that no one pressured them to do this."
After calling upon his readers to participate in the weekly protests, Pass concludes, "I'm sorry that I won't be able to participate myself for the coming six months, because the people who gave so many weapons to the murderers have convicted my brother-in-law Mati Shvo and myself of possessing illegal weapons, and threw us into jail for two years - and do not even allow us the vacations to which we are legally entitled."
Of late, the Honenu organization has been informed that the permits to demonstrate a block away from the President's home in Kiryat Malachi will not be renewed, as Katzav and his neighbors have complained about the invasion of privacy the demonstrations entail. The police, in a letter to Shmuel Meidad of the Honenu organization, a strong backer of the protests, explained that they would help find them an alternate site at which to protest.
Meidad, however, does not accept the police position. In a letter to the Southern Police Region's legal advisor, Meidad writes,
"By police request, we were kept one street away from the President's home, and we have honored this request. Recently, at what appears to be the President's request, you required us to hold the protest even further away from Mr. Katzav's home. [He himself recently told Yitzchak Pass and Mati Shvo that he feels their protest is legitimate, but] Mr. Katzav has now changed his mind... I am not subject to internal instructions to you by the Attorney-General. It is not directed to me, and is neither legal nor moral, and is certainly not democratic. Consequently, I do not intend to stop protesting against Mr. Katzav's collaboration with the murderers of our children. I protest the fact that you are using your authority to impose your will in a manner that brutally violates the law, while we, in contrast, have observed the law all along." In fact, a protest demonstration was held at the "regular" site last night, and the police did not intervene.
Meidad also noted that several weeks ago, he and another demonstrator were summoned for an investigation - and that the other person was even told to sign his consent not to come to Kiryat Malachi for 14 days. "Only because of his persistence in refusing to sign such a baseless order was it cancelled, and he was released immediately," Meidad notes.
In a related item, the Supreme Court rejected on Friday, Yom Kippur Eve, a request to hold a holiday prayer vigil outside the Shikmim Farm home of Prime Minister Sharon near Sderot. The Court ruled that there was not enough time to clarify the issues before the holiday. Atty. Baruch Ben-Yosef, who filed the request, reacted sharply: "If we were leftists, the judges would even come out in their pajamas to stand up for freedom of speech. They are afraid of the power of prayer, and fear that our prayers will nullify the evil decree of disengagement."