The Tel Aviv District Court yesterday withdrew an indictment against Ofir, 30, of Kibbutz Barkai, on charges of killing an Arab fugitive – charges for which he was tried in a military court nine years ago.
The incident in question occurred in April 1995 when Ofir, a soldier in the IDF, was driving a patrol jeep with two officers. At one point, they saw an Arab-driven vehicle "that did not obey the orders of the policeman at the roadblock to halt," according to the indictment, "and instead, went through the roadblock wildly while endangering the policeman, continuing eastwards at high speed."
An officer in the car ordered Ofir to give chase, which he did. "The siren was operated in the jeep the whole time," according to the charge sheet, "and the loudspeaker [was used] to order [the Arab car] to halt, to no avail." At one point, the Arab car "was halted by an earth obstruction, and its two occupants jumped from the windows and continued to flee on foot." Ofir, who later explained that he was convinced that the Arabs were terrorists – this was shortly after the Beit Lid bus stop massacre, in which 21 Israelis were murdered - continued to chase one of the Arabs, while shouting again, "Halt!" He shot into the air, and then at the Arab. Finally, the Arab climbed into a house, into which Ofir shot again, killing him.
The case was resolved in an IDF military court, and Ofir was demoted in rank.
Suddenly, in February 2003, some seven years later, Ofir received a letter dryly informing him that he was being charged in a civil court with: "Manslaughter, in contravention of clause 798 of the Penal Law, 1977."
The Prosecution's sudden decision to charge him followed an appeal to the Supreme Court against the IDF ruling by the family of the Arab who was killed. Yesterday, however, Tel Aviv District Court Judge Tzvi Gorfinkel nullified the indictment. He ruled that no new evidence had been produced, that the IDF Prosecution had not misused its authority, and that the civil prosecution therefore had no authority to override the IDF decision.
To explain why a seven-year-old case was revived altogether, some feel that it happened only at the behest of foreign organizations that wish to destabilize the IDF and Israel's ability to defend itself. MK Nissim Ze'ev (Shas) said in the Knesset, during a short exchange on the topic with Deputy Defense Minister Ze'ev Boim, "Why is it that the Prosecution decided [after all these years], and against the recommendations of the GSS [Shabak] and all the security organs, to serve this indictment?... It's because of international pressure, because of caving in, because of B'Tzelem [a left-wing civil rights organization – ed.]."
The Honenu organization, which has been aiding Ofir and others in similar situations – and noted MK Aryeh Eldad (National Union) as one who offered help - issued the following statement:
"It is sad to see a country fighting against its own most loyal citizens and soldiers. [This indictment] was apparently the result of international anti-Semitic organizations that infiltrate en-masse to Judea, Samaria and Gaza to intimidate, confuse and sabotage the operative capabilities of the IDF. Their goal is also to weaken the residents."
Shmuel Medad, Chairman of Honenu, said, "A senior IDF officer told me that most unfortunately, it is the most motivated soldiers who are most at risk of getting legally entangled in this manner."
Ofir Avraham himself wrote to the Prosecution after he received the indictment. Excerpts from his letter:
...According to all the warnings that we received in the unit, because of the terrorist attacks that took place at that time in the region, those people were at that moment suspected of being terrorists... I was interrogated for about five days by the Military Police Investigation Department in Tzrifin, and I was held in jail until the end of the investigation. After five days I was released and returned to my unit. I also underwent a lie detector test, and participated in a reconstruction of the incident by the police in the place where it occurred. All the material was sent to the Army Prosecutor so as to decide if there were grounds to bring criminal charges against me. About six months later, about two months after I was released from the IDF, I was informed that the Army Prosecutor decided that, since no reason had been found to bring me to trial on a criminal charge, I must go to the army unit to be tried by the commander. There I was tried by the head of the Civil Administration, David Harel, and the case was closed eight years ago. Then, [several years later,] I received an indictment from the State Prosecutor's Department who had decided to re-open the case and charge me with manslaughter."
Ofir also explained that while the army was able to take into account the military aspects of the case, the civil course would not be able to do that. He later said, too, that he no longer had much of the material he used at the time to defend himself.
"Now the State simply wants to destroy my life after eight years. I am now a married man with a small daughter. I work as a salaried worker, serve in the army in the reserves, and have obligations to my family. This affair is harming me and my family very much, and is causing me great expenses that I cannot meet unless I split up my family and sell off all my property. It is very painful to me that the State is abandoning me, a soldier who did what he was told to do during his national service in the IDF. They are giving me no help or backing, although the incident is connected with my army service and was handled and closed by the army."
The Honenu site lists and aids other cases in which the security situation and international pressures have caused many Jews to face difficult legal situations. The organization helps them publicize their cases, obtain legal aid, and brave the financial hardships.
The incident in question occurred in April 1995 when Ofir, a soldier in the IDF, was driving a patrol jeep with two officers. At one point, they saw an Arab-driven vehicle "that did not obey the orders of the policeman at the roadblock to halt," according to the indictment, "and instead, went through the roadblock wildly while endangering the policeman, continuing eastwards at high speed."
An officer in the car ordered Ofir to give chase, which he did. "The siren was operated in the jeep the whole time," according to the charge sheet, "and the loudspeaker [was used] to order [the Arab car] to halt, to no avail." At one point, the Arab car "was halted by an earth obstruction, and its two occupants jumped from the windows and continued to flee on foot." Ofir, who later explained that he was convinced that the Arabs were terrorists – this was shortly after the Beit Lid bus stop massacre, in which 21 Israelis were murdered - continued to chase one of the Arabs, while shouting again, "Halt!" He shot into the air, and then at the Arab. Finally, the Arab climbed into a house, into which Ofir shot again, killing him.
The case was resolved in an IDF military court, and Ofir was demoted in rank.
Suddenly, in February 2003, some seven years later, Ofir received a letter dryly informing him that he was being charged in a civil court with: "Manslaughter, in contravention of clause 798 of the Penal Law, 1977."
The Prosecution's sudden decision to charge him followed an appeal to the Supreme Court against the IDF ruling by the family of the Arab who was killed. Yesterday, however, Tel Aviv District Court Judge Tzvi Gorfinkel nullified the indictment. He ruled that no new evidence had been produced, that the IDF Prosecution had not misused its authority, and that the civil prosecution therefore had no authority to override the IDF decision.
To explain why a seven-year-old case was revived altogether, some feel that it happened only at the behest of foreign organizations that wish to destabilize the IDF and Israel's ability to defend itself. MK Nissim Ze'ev (Shas) said in the Knesset, during a short exchange on the topic with Deputy Defense Minister Ze'ev Boim, "Why is it that the Prosecution decided [after all these years], and against the recommendations of the GSS [Shabak] and all the security organs, to serve this indictment?... It's because of international pressure, because of caving in, because of B'Tzelem [a left-wing civil rights organization – ed.]."
The Honenu organization, which has been aiding Ofir and others in similar situations – and noted MK Aryeh Eldad (National Union) as one who offered help - issued the following statement:
"It is sad to see a country fighting against its own most loyal citizens and soldiers. [This indictment] was apparently the result of international anti-Semitic organizations that infiltrate en-masse to Judea, Samaria and Gaza to intimidate, confuse and sabotage the operative capabilities of the IDF. Their goal is also to weaken the residents."
Shmuel Medad, Chairman of Honenu, said, "A senior IDF officer told me that most unfortunately, it is the most motivated soldiers who are most at risk of getting legally entangled in this manner."
Ofir Avraham himself wrote to the Prosecution after he received the indictment. Excerpts from his letter:
...According to all the warnings that we received in the unit, because of the terrorist attacks that took place at that time in the region, those people were at that moment suspected of being terrorists... I was interrogated for about five days by the Military Police Investigation Department in Tzrifin, and I was held in jail until the end of the investigation. After five days I was released and returned to my unit. I also underwent a lie detector test, and participated in a reconstruction of the incident by the police in the place where it occurred. All the material was sent to the Army Prosecutor so as to decide if there were grounds to bring criminal charges against me. About six months later, about two months after I was released from the IDF, I was informed that the Army Prosecutor decided that, since no reason had been found to bring me to trial on a criminal charge, I must go to the army unit to be tried by the commander. There I was tried by the head of the Civil Administration, David Harel, and the case was closed eight years ago. Then, [several years later,] I received an indictment from the State Prosecutor's Department who had decided to re-open the case and charge me with manslaughter."
Ofir also explained that while the army was able to take into account the military aspects of the case, the civil course would not be able to do that. He later said, too, that he no longer had much of the material he used at the time to defend himself.
"Now the State simply wants to destroy my life after eight years. I am now a married man with a small daughter. I work as a salaried worker, serve in the army in the reserves, and have obligations to my family. This affair is harming me and my family very much, and is causing me great expenses that I cannot meet unless I split up my family and sell off all my property. It is very painful to me that the State is abandoning me, a soldier who did what he was told to do during his national service in the IDF. They are giving me no help or backing, although the incident is connected with my army service and was handled and closed by the army."
The Honenu site lists and aids other cases in which the security situation and international pressures have caused many Jews to face difficult legal situations. The organization helps them publicize their cases, obtain legal aid, and brave the financial hardships.