Israel Matzav

Elhanan Tannenbaum should be indicted

You've probably seen enough nasty references on this blog to 'the philandering Elhanan Tannenbaum,' and 'the drug dealer, Elhanan Tannenbaum,' to know that I believe that releasing over four hundred terrorists in exchange for Tannenbaum and three dead bodies was a huge mistake. But there was another mistake: when Tannenbaum was returned to Israel, the Attorney General hurriedly pushed through an immunity deal for him, a deal that Tannenbaum now says that he was 'pressured' to sign. The question is why - why was Tannenbaum granted immunity? Last week, I noted that he admitted in open court that he was a drug dealer and that he had gone to Lebanon to close a drug deal - not that he was kidnapped from another country and brought there as we were initially told.

And so I find myself in agreement with former Shinui MK Chemi Doron, who writes on YNet today that Tannenbaum didn't tell the whole truth when he was returned to Israel in 2004, and that his agreement with the State ought to be reopened:

Last week, Elhanan Tennenbaum admitted that he left to Lebanon in order to offer his advice on a drug deal. The person who the State of Israel paid for with dozens of terrorists, including some with blood on their hands, was merely a despicable, small-time dealer.

Moreover, on the witness stand he confessed that despite the agreement he signed with the State, he did not tell defense establishment representatives everything.

The requisite conclusion: The attorney general acted in an extremely unreasonable manner when he decided to grant the man full immunity from justice. The High Court also erred after rejecting in practice the petitions we filed against the immunity deal.

...

And now, as noted, Tennenbaum admits that he did not tell his interrogators all the details regarding the drug deal he was working on abroad. The question this raises is what else did he hide?

According to his fresh testimony, even he himself realized he should stand trial for his actions, as would be the case in any normal country. Yet the State, he claimed, was the one that pressed him into that foolish agreement, and all that's left for us is to ask: Why?

Did the security establishment attempt to hide the huge failure of allowing such person to be involved in top secret projects? Is it possible that the deal stemmed from the fear that the establishment's incompetence will be exposed? We do not have the clear answers for that, yet today it's clear to everyone that this agreement was needless, unreasonable, and incomprehensibly stupid.

...

Perhaps now, Menachem Mazuz will come to his senses and launch a comprehensive examination into all the details and motives that led to the prisoner swap where Israel paid a heavy price and Nasrallah became the Arab nation's dear son. Perhaps the attorney general can use the same opportunity to send Tennenbaum to where he deserves to be – behind bars.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:01 PM