[Avodah] Badatz Denounces Violent Demonstrations

[T613K at aol.com]

From: "Jonathan Baker" _jjbaker at panix.com_ (mailto:jjbaker at panix.com) 
>>  Israel  is a JEWISH state.  Its police is a Jewish
police, appointed by the  (majority-Jewish) government.  Its power to
enforce the law is part of  the Torah system.  How can it be "mesirah"
to report a crime to the  Israeli police?  Police brutality is a separate
issue, but they are  expected to be brutal in the  Torah.<<

name: jon  baker             
 
>>>>>
Israel does not claim to be a "Torah" state nor are its laws the laws of  the 
Torah nor does it follow halacha in most instances nor are its judges and  
police the shoftim and shotrim of the Torah.  There has been much testimony  
about the many Russian policemen in Israel (some with crosses around their  
necks) ,and even the Jewish police are the lowest people in Israel, chosen from  
the ranks of the most brutal and least civilized strata of society.  There  has 
also been much testimony on Areivim and in many other places about police  
brutality against guilty rioters and innocent bystanders alike.   They will wade 
into a crowd of peaceful protestors, clubs swinging, and aim to  cause injury. 
 DL settlers and charedim alike have plenty of stories to  tell.  When the 
Torah says that police must exercise force, by no means  does it envision the 
indiscriminate beating of innocent people.   In  America policemen who  commit 
wanton acts of brutality against minorities  go to jail (especially if there is 
eyewitness testimony and video footage) but  in Israel they are deliberately 
"sicced" on "undesirables."  "Undesirables"  are settlers and 
settler-sympathizers, and any man with payos caught walking  down the street anywhere near a 
reported "incident" -- whether or not he had  anything to do with it.  The 
police also beat up Arabs pretty  indiscriminately -- though I admit it's harder 
for me to get worked up about  that, since any randomly chosen Arab is pretty 
likely to be guilty -- but I  would think that the kind of person who thinks 
charedim deserve to get beaten  might not feel so unsympathetic towards innocent 
Arabs who are similarly  victimized.  The Torah does not say that shotrim 
should engage in  wanton, lawless acts of brutality, not even against Canaanites 
in our  midst.  


 


--Toby  Katz
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