Police Intimidation of Political Activists
- - - - by Yoel.Ben-Avraham
Translation from the Hebrew of a personal letter describing systematic police harrassment that we hear about from various people, but rarely read such an articulate written accounting. Worth checking out and discussing! YBA
The following is a first hand account of the kind of systematic intimidation experienced by hundreds of activists working against the "Disengagement" initiative. None of the actions described are, in themselves, criminal or violent, but after reading the following story I would like you to think of this in the following terms:
* Multiply this story by hundreds to start understanding the effect it has on people and their decision to publicly express disapproval of government policy
* The likelihood that the principals exposed to such systematic intimidation will ever fully trust their local police in future?
* The corrupting influence the execution of such orders must have upon the civil servants themselves and how it might color their future interaction with ordinary citizens who do not agree with them politically.
If you don't believe the "harbingers of doom" that democracy in Israel is in danger, read David Spitz's account of how the government is exploiting the police and sec
urity agencies to intimidate political activists who disagree with their policies.
Yoel Ben-Avraham
Moderator - www.Disengagement.org
Complete article : http://www.battalionofdeborah.org/blog/_archives/2005/6/20/956733.html
Published on Monday, June 20, 2005
Police Intimidation of Political Activists
The following is a first hand account of the kind of systematic intimidation experienced by hundreds of activists working against the "Disengagement" initiative. None of the actions described are, in themselves, criminal or violent, but after reading the following story I would like you to think of this in the following terms:
* Multiply this story by hundreds to start understanding the effect it has on people and their decision to publicly express disapproval of government policy
* The likelihood that the principals exposed to such systematic intimidation will ever fully trust their local police in future?
* The corrupting influence the execution of such orders must have upon the civil servants themselves and how it might color their future interaction with ordinary citizens who do not agree with them politically.
If you don't believe the "harbingers of doom" that democracy in Israel is in danger, read David Spitz's account of how the government is exploiting the police and sec
urity agencies to intimidate political activists who disagree with their policies.
Yoel Ben-Avraham
Moderator - www.Disengagement.org
Complete article : http://www.battalionofdeborah.org/blog/_archives/2005/6/20/956733.html
Published on Monday, June 20, 2005