Supreme Court Judge, Criticizing Lower Court, Releases Cytryn

The decision was made yesterday (Tuesday) by Supreme Court Justice Edmond Levy, who reiterated that the "arrest" weapon must be employed only when necessary and when the desired objective cannot be obtained otherwise. Levy wrote that he was sufficiently convinced that Shimshon does not present a threat to the public - and had strong criticism of the lower court that did not release him earlier.



The 18-year-old yeshiva student will be placed under the custody of Rabbi Dr. Hanoch Herbst, who heads a yeshiva high school in Kibbutz Shaalvim, between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.



Cytryn was arrested in early July following what the media repeatedly called an "attempted lynching" - but which was really nothing more than a rock-throwing exchange. The Arab rock-thrower who was hurt by the rock apparently thrown by Shimshon was originally reported as mortally wounded, but was in fact only slightly injured. The Arab himself later said he was hurt not by a rock but by a rifle butt.



Following Cytryn's request, his request for house arrest was turned down several times by District Court Judge Binyamin Azulai - and Justice Levy wrote that he does not understand why.



Cytryn first appealed to the Be'er Sheva District Court in September, asking if he could be released in light of the end of the disengagement and its accompanying strife. The Court turned him down, but noted that a form of house arrest should be looked into.



Later in September, the Testing Service found that Shimshon had a "clear political and ideological conception," but that he has no "criminal norms and values... He is able to respect the terms of house arrest, and this would negate a danger in his behavior." However, the Be'er Sheva Court turned down his request to be released, asking that the Testing Service check once again the level of his danger to the public.



In early October, the Service presented its second report, which added several new points and concluded with a clear recommendation that Shimshon be released to Kibbutz Shaalvim and Rabbi Herbst.



Again, the Court did not suffice with this recommendation, and asked for further clarifications.



The Service presented yet a third report, in mid-October, in which it declared clearly:

"Our impression has become strengthened about a boy who subscribes to Greater Land of Israel ideology and who feels that this goal must be actualized via the study of Torah and manual labor - agriculture and shepherding - as he learned in his home, and not via harming Arabs. He emphasized again that violence of any type is not his way... We feel that the danger level and/or the chance of his violating the terms of his release is low."



Despite all the above, the Be'er Sheva District Court once again rejected Cytryn's request for house arrest, and ruled, "No evidence was brought that would negate the danger that stems from his actions... No concrete evidence was brought indicating a revolutionary change in his ideological conception [or indicating] that he sincerely regrets his path of taking the law into his hands, [etc.]."



Supreme Court Justice Levy, after summarizing all the above, noted in his ruling:



"I cannot concur with the result reached by the District Court. The Criminal Code attempts to respect and fulfill the rights of an accused person to walk freely until [he is convicted], and therefore the use of the 'arrest' weapon should be employed only when necessary and when the goal cannot be reached otherwise... The District Court was correct in ordering an analysis into the [Shaalvim] option, and was also correct when it attempted to clarify some doubts by summoning the Testing Officer. Despite this, the Court concluded that insufficient evidence was brought to show that there was a revolutionary change in [Shimshon's] ideological conception. This conception is rooted in what many call 'Greater Land of Israel' - and I am sure that the learned judge did not mean that the appellant's release must be made conditional upon his abandoning this world-view. It must be that the intention was for evidence showing that he no longer supports the use of violence to this end.



"However, it is not clear to me what the learned judge meant by 'concrete evidence' - for the only evidence that could be brought at this stage is regret and sorrow, which he in fact expressed in court on Oct. 27...



"It appears that very rarely has the Testing Service been asked for such a thorough and deep analysis in such an early stage of the proceedings, as was the case in this instance that has been brought before me. I feel that in light of the severe gravity of the case in which he was allegedly involved, that analysis was called for. But, precisely because of the intensity of the testing, it appears to me that it would be correct to grant determining value to its recommendations regarding his continued incarceration...



"As for myself, I see no reason to reject the Testing Service's conclusion, especially in light of the fact that he will still be restricted and under constant supervision..."



Shimshon was released, according to the ruling, to full house arrest, after depositing a 10,000-shekel bond and signing for another 50,000 shekels. Rabbi Herbst similarly signed for 10,000 shekels, payable if the conditions of the release are not met.