by Yossi Tzur
Today (Monday) we
bereaved families will once again hold a "ceremony" at the Supreme
Court. Every few years, under one pretext or another, the government
decides to release murderous terrorists. Perhaps in exchange for a
captive soldier, perhaps to recover soldiers' bodies, or merely as a
precondition for talks. Talks, shmalks.
The bereaved families
end up paying the price: in suffering, in reopening the wound of the
attack that changed their lives, the trauma they have been struggling
with for years. Each time we try to rehabilitate ourselves, the
government throws us back into the eye of the storm, into suffering and
pain.
The dynamic is always
the same. At first, rumors circulate about an upcoming prisoner release.
Organizations representing the victims and their loved ones voice
concern. There are denials all around. Finally the cabinet convenes.
Everyone says the vote was very close but the prime minister proved
persuasive in the end. The media has a field day. Everything is wrapped
in a smoke screen of lies that are meant to give the appearance of
genuine debate, misgivings and the agonizing that went on.
But the decision has
been predetermined. It was promised to foreign entities before Israelis
even knew about it. The Americans and Palestinians are both promised,
with a wink or without, that it will all work out. Now the government
just has to get past the smoke screen that is the media and public
opinion.
The list is published a
mere 48 hours before the release. They are careful to make the
terrorists' names as difficult as possible to identify. This is easy to
do with Arab names (What is the precise spelling of a name like Mawaaz
Abu Sharach?) The families pounce on the list, looking for the name of
the terrorist who killed their loved one and who is about to go free.
Then they petition the High Court of Justice. The High Court will say
that the decision is up to the government and that it does not intervene
in such cases.
This afternoon, we
bereaved families will conduct our recurrent ritual at the Supreme
Court. But this will be a Supreme Court of the dry letter of the law and
obstinate bureaucracy. There will be no justice. Because the same
Supreme Court that has in the past rejected terrorists' appeals to go
free will now lay the groundwork for their release in dubious government
deals.
Still, we have one
small hope. Just as the High Court decided on the matter of Ramat Gan
mayor Zvi Bar that his actions of alleged corruption were "kosher but
noxious" and prevented him from running for office, we hope the High
Court judges will show real courage and decide, in the petition against
the prisoner release, that there is no good reason to release the
prisoners and that the government's decision is "kosher but noxious."
The writer lost his son Asaf in the terror attack on the 37 bus in Haifa in March 2003.
Yossi Tzur
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=5339
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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