February 20: Prosecutor or persecutor?

Rather than calling for the resignation of Rabbi Metzger, perhaps we should call for the resignation of Menachem Mazuz!

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
letters to the editor (photo credit: )
letters to the editor
(photo credit: )
Prosecutor... The attorney-general's role as a prosecutor has been overshadowed by his activities as a persecutor. His incessant hounding of Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger for years did not produce enough evidence to bring the matter to trial ("Metzger resumes posts after panel declines to fire him," February 19). Nevertheless, he has besmirched the reputation of the rabbi and, I'm sure, caused him considerable anguish. All this without providing an opportunity for him to publicly defend himself. Whether the charges against Rabbi Metzger are valid or not, and whether or not they impugn the rabbi's moral integrity, certainly the democratic integrity of Attorney-General Mazuz has been seriously compromised. Rather than calling for the resignation of Rabbi Metzger, perhaps we should call for the resignation of Menachem Mazuz! HAIM M. LERNER Ganei Tikva ...or persecutor? Sir, - I am not a lawyer, but as a minister of religion I knew to listen to both sides of an argument. As a result of this case, who is going to advise our attorney-general that he should be more careful in future deliberations? MICHAEL PLASKOW Netanya Tsar Dorit & Pope Aharon Sir, - "Beinisch says Friedmann's reform proposals may be unconstitutional" (February 18). What constitution? Last I looked, we had none except the one that exists in the fertile imaginations of Ms. Beinisch and her mentor, Aharon Barak. Under cover of this fantastical non-document, Barak and Beinisch have imposed autocracy upon us and called it democracy. No elected or appointed institution in this country has real authority any longer. Every issue is decided by the High Court of Justice - from the zoning of a plot, to whether some colonel may be promoted, to the size of the munitions the army uses, to how the state conducts its foreign relations. The court has stripped executive power from the government and legislative power from the Knesset. Is it any wonder these institutions are paralyzed? The army, too, can no longer function effectively. There's no need to read the Winograd Report to know why the IDF couldn't or wouldn't fight in Lebanon. When the High Court heard the case accusing Dan Halutz and others of a war crime for using a one-ton bomb instead of smaller ordnance to kill a terrorist leader in Gaza, it effectively castrated the army. What officer will dare order an attack if every casualty or stray shell brings a High Court suit accusing him of criminal behavior? No officer can make a decision without worrying what Beinisch will say. Soon every soldier will have a legal adviser to tell him when he can shoot. Dorit Beinisch has the supreme powers of a Russian tsar over every act of the state; Aharon Barak fills the role of an infallible Roman pope. They can't be challenged because they tell us that would be unconstitutional. And since only they know what is in this constitution, it is hard to challenge them. They promised us the rule of law, and gave us the rule of lawyers. JOSEF GILBOA Jaffa State of confusion Sir, - I'm confused. Azmi Bishara is in Canada calling us an apartheid state ("Israel's creation was 'armed robbery,' Bishara tells Toronto apartheid parley," February 19). In the same issue we read that Ghaleb Majadle had life-saving surgery in Hadassah University Hospital ("Month-old bump on the head necessitates surgery for Majadle"). The culture and sport minister, like thousands of Arab citizens, found help in an Israeli hospital. Bishara reportedly said that "Palestine" is the only apartheid regime left in the world... maybe he was referring to the Palestinian territories, where Jews fear to even enter? SHARON ALTSHUL Jerusalem Once bitten, twice bitten? Sir, - Your February 19 headline read "Israel concerned over impending UNIFIL breakdown" and referred to the potential withdrawal of the international community from UNIFIL as a result of attacks on its soldiers by terrorist groups in Southern Lebanon. The day before, you had "IDF exit plan: Gaza invasion will bring multinational force," in which defense officials implied that our salvation lay in an international force in Gaza (UNIFIG?). After the disastrous results of trusting UNIFIL in Lebanon, can anyone in their right mind think of doing the same in Gaza? CECILIA HENRY Kfar Bialik The Kosovo case Sir, - Re "Kosovo wins recognition from US, European powers" and "Israel won't recognize Kosovo for now" (both February 19): We are dealing with the creation of a completely illegal new country in the middle of Serbia. If we take a look back, it seems that the countries that helped Nazi Germany in its insane "Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer" war have been rewarded with independence and are widely recognized new states. Slovenia, now a EU member, welcomed Hitler with a red carpet; Croatia, which had concentration camps like Jasenovac and killed many Jewish and Serbian people, is now a fully recognized country (Germany was the first to recognize it). Croatia still has the Nazi symbol on its flag. Last but not least is Kosovo, which helped Hitler with its so-called Balists units operating on its territory in World War II. It looks to me as if we were on the wrong side in WWII since we are still paying the price. Your country still has no peace, and still struggles. Let me end by expressing my admiration for Jewish people and their unity in such hard times. I would like my country to have one-fifth of the unity you are showing. Although I'm of a different faith, I'm doing my best to become an educated, dedicated and faithful man, like most of your people. DUSAN VUCKOVIC Nis, Serbia Pedophiles in society Sir, - Israel's problem with pedophiles is no different from the US's, but the way they are handled is ("Why the leniency for pedophiles?" Editorial, February 13). In many American states those convicted of pedophilia receive a sentence of at least five years. Upon release they are put on a national pedophile list, have to register where they live and every time they move, and cannot live within the restricted area of a school. When they moves into a neighborhood, people within a fixed radius have to be notified so they can watch out for their children. Although pedophilia has not been eliminated in the US, it has been greatly reduced. If judges don't understand the damage a pedophile can do to children, they should be removed. HARVEY MATTHEW Har Homa Cold comfort Sir, - Kol hakavod to The Jerusalem Post for delivery of the newspaper on time during Tuesday's snowstorm, and during last month's as well. And kudos to the delivery men too. That's more than we can say for the Jerusalem Municipality. The snowplows were ready, so why weren't they used to clear the bus routes early in the morning so the buses could run, people could get to work, children could get to school, and schools could open on time? ("Holy snow! Jerusalem braces for a second storm," February 18.) HANNAH SONDHELM Jerusalem Sir, - Yes, we "should leave a faucet dripping slowly as soon as the temperatures drop," but not "to prevent the pipes from exploding." It is, rather, to prevent the pipes rupturing from expansion of the water when it freezes up. M.M. VAN ZUIDEN Jerusalem