Posted on 02/03/2006 6:27:37 AM PST by Esther Ruth
Hendel: Olmert's Advisor Said His Job is to Make Settlers Hated 09:29 Feb 03, '06 / 5 Shevat 5766 By Hillel Fendel
MK Tzvi Hendel, an expelled resident of Gush Katif now living in Yad Binyamin, said that Acting PM Olmert's political advisor said outright that his job is to get the public to "hate the settlers."
Hendel made the accusation at a National Union Party press conference Thursday night. Specifically, he said that Eyal Arad, Olmert's strategic political advisor, had told a leading Yesha (Judea/Samaria) personality, "The nation hates you [the Jewish public living in Judea and Samaria] as much as it hates the Arabs, and my job is to make sure they hate you even more."
Hendel offered to resign from the Knesset if it turns out Arad did not say that.
Ynet reported Arad's response: "Those words were never said, and as proof, there is no one who is willing to admit that he heard them from me. I therefore expect Hendel to resign, and immediately."
Arad, a former advisor to Binyamin Netanyahu, ran Ariel Sharon's victorious campaigns in 2001 and 2003. In 2004, Arad served in Romania as the strategic advisor in the campaign of the anti-Semitic presidential candidate Corneliu Vadim Tudor, head of the Greater Romania Party. This, despite Romanian Jewish leaders' description of Tudor as an "enemy of the Jews," and the Foreign Ministry's statements at the time that Tudor was "xenophobic, anti-Semitic and anti-democratic."
The National Union Party press conference was held in the wake of the the police violence at the Amona evacuation/destruction. The party's stance is that a national commission of inquiry must be established to trace the orders and events leading to the brutal police violence that brought about some 200 civilian injuries.
In addition to Hendel, speakers included MKs Effie Eitam and Aryeh Eldad, who were both injured by the police at Amona, and party director-general Nachi Eyal, whose 15-year-old son had to be resuscitated by an ambulance driver after he was beaten by police at Amona.
Public Security Minister Gideon Ezra, despite the host of video clips and other evidence showing that policemen used sadistic violence against peaceful protestors, said Thursday, "The police should be congratulated for carrying out the mission."
Nachi Eyal, whose son awoke from his coma during the course of Wednesday night, said, "I read that a police officer said that they used 'kid gloves.' Kid gloves split a boy's head open and nearly kill him? How is it possible for an Israeli policeman to stand and smash children's skulls? How can such people grow up here in our country?"
"It can't be," Eyal continued, "that we foster a pack of Amstaffs [a breed of dangerous dog] that the moment they are released, they don't stop, leading to dozens of people in the hospital with head wounds. This cannot be allowed to occur in a country like ours."
MK Benny Elon said, "Based on what I saw there, I can say that the fact that no one was killed is a miracle. There must be a public commission of inquiry, which is the minimum we can do to prevent a civil war. The committee must check what briefing the Central Commander gave the special Yassam police, and what instructions the Central Commander received from above."
MK Aryeh Eldad, whose arm was broken by police at Amona said, "One policeman told me that the order was to 'mow their faces down.' The responsibility for the smashed skulls lies with the Central Commander and on Olmert. The rocks that flew in Amona were the rocks of Gush Katif, and the rocks that will fly next time will be those of Amona. This public understands that Olmert is going against them all the way, and they are responding as one who is pushed against the wall with no ability to react."
MK Eitam, who was released from the hospital over 24 hours after suffering a head wound at Amona, said, "If we don't want to deteriorate to civil war, a public commission of inquiry headed by a Supreme Court judge must immediately be established."
Published: 09:23 February 03, 2006 Last Update: 09:29 February 03, 2006
http://www.arutzsheva.net/news.php3?id=97879
More Testimonies of Police Brutality at Amona
13:49 Feb 03, '06 / 5 Shevat 5766
By Hillel Fendel
Even when the protestors expressed no opposition and asked to leave, the policemen still continued to beat them. Teenagers talk, and testimonies are gathered for a public inquiry.
Many teenagers around the country are still physically and emotionally bruised by the violent evacuation and destruction of nine homes in Amona, in the Binyamin region. A series of testimonies can be read here. More testimonies are included below.
Bruriah C., 18, a youth leader in Petach Tikvah:
"I can tell you that it hurts very much... We were standing outside the second house, when very suddenly, the police and their horses came charging into us. One horse jumped... and kicked me; I wanted to leave and walk away, and so did many others of us - but the police didn't let us. They just closed in on us and continued swinging their clubs and beating us...
"One of my girls [from Petach Tikvah] was grabbed by two policemen, and I tried to get her away from them. At that point, a Border Guard policewoman gave me a very hard clubbing on my head - it hurt terribly and I felt totally dizzy. I tried not to fall down... they gave me another blow and then I fell down, screaming out in pain. Somehow I got out, and an army medic treated me. I heard them saying that if there was a helicopter available, I should be evacuated to a hospital, but if not, then I should be the first one in an ambulance...
"At some point, I fainted; I know I wasn't breathing for a while, and they had me on a gas mask... In the hospital, I was lying down the whole time, but I kept seeing more and more of us coming in, bleeding terribly and with severe head wounds and the like - and at the same time, maybe five policemen were also brought in, with little scratches."
Asked how she views what happened in retrospect, Bruriah said,
"It is still totally shocking to me. They came with all their defensive shields and heavy equipment, and they still kept hitting us, with no mercy. I am still in shock... Next time, we have to be even stronger; if that's how they come at us, then we can't give in."
A-7: "But they are coming in the name of the law?"
Bruriah: "It's so obvious that this has nothing to do with law. They came with murder in their eyes. We begged that they should let us go away, but they didn't let us; they just kept beating us... This is really a pure example of [the words of Psalms], 'they come with chariots and horses, and we come in the name of G-d.'"
Yaakov L., 16, Beit El:
"We were on the roof of house number 7, and when the police came onto the roof, they just started hitting us with abandon. Even those who said they're willing to go - they got hit even more. It seemed that whoever opened his mouth got hit hard.
"As for me, I don't even remember if I said anything or not, all I know is that I never felt so much pain in my life. They smashed me all over, and especially on my head and arm. My arm was all blue and blown up; I was sure it was broken, but thank G-d it turned out that it was not. But they cracked my skull; I was taken to the hospital, and am walking around now with a big bandage all around. It hurts now only if I touch it..."
Click "play" below to watch a video of police brutality.
Click here if video does not appear
Click here to view video on alternative server - can be downloaded
For every ten policemen in Amona, the police sent one cameraman to film the events. The police are already working intensively to review the recordings in order to identify and arrest any youth seen throwing rocks or otherwise attacking policemen. Israel Television news reported, however, that the police declined to answer queries as to when they might be reviewing the tapes to identify policemen who used excessive force.
This Saturday night in Jerusalem (8:30 PM, Gold Hotel), several concerned groups will be holding an emergency session in light of the police brutality at Amona. The gathering of evidence such as photos, films and eyewitness accounts of violent policemen will be discussed and planned.
Also at issue will be the events leading up to the Amona destruction, as well as the double standard inherent in the overlooking of tens of thousands of Arab violations of the building code. The event will be coordinated by Honenu, Yesha Civil Rights Organization, and Merkaz Medini L'Yisrael.
Published: 13:37 February 03, 2006
Last Update: 13:49 February 03, 2006
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The ones who are going to be hated are not the settlers, but the thugs brutalizing them, and the one's who issued the orders.
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