Government embarrassed: Terrorist killing soldier beaten unconscious in '05 anti-expulsion protest
The Israeli government was embarrassed yesterday by the heroic actions of M, the off-duty soldier in civilian clothes who grabbed a policeman's gun and killed the bulldozer terrorist in Jerusalem yesterday. For starters, they have now banned his name (link in Hebrew) from publication. When Aaron Lerner called the foreign ministry to find out why someone went to court to ban publication of M's name in the first place, he was stonewalled:IMRA called Foreign Affair Spokesman, Arye Mekel, on 3 July 2008:Aaron goes on to reproduce the foreign ministry article on yesterday's events in which no soldier is mentioned as having been involved in liquidating the terrorist.
IMRA: Lerner from IMRA. I wanted to ask you why the Foreign Ministry article about the terror attack yesterday (see below) reports that "Police shot and killed the terrorist".
There is no mention of the soldier who was involved.
Is there some kind of policy issue that the Foreign Ministry didn't want to mention the soldier?
Mekel: I prefer not to talk with you. Last time I didn't like the taping and the quotes. I would rather not talk to you.
["Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesman, Arye Mekel clueless on calm understanding" - the transcript of a telephone interview that took place between Mekel and IMRA in which - at no time - Mr. Mekel indicated that he was speaking off the record.]
Lerner adds:
"I thought I have seen everything - but this is the most absurd thing that has ever happened," a source in the Israel Courts Administration told IMRA this morning. "At 8:00 PM, after the soldier was interviewed by name by the entire media the [Jerusalem Magistrate's] Court issued an order barring the publishing the name of the soldier who killed the terrorist in Jerusalem. We still don't have a copy of the order in our office so we don't know yetSo why the coverup of "M's" involvement? Maybe this has something to do with it.
what logic may hide behind this decision."
The soldier's face is blurred in photographs appearing in the Israeli newspapers today and his name has been reduced to the letter "Mem".
IMRA was unable to clarify why the identity of the soldier - who according to Yediot Ahronot, had to fight the IDF for two years to get drafted (the IDF did not want to draft him because he had been an anti-disengagement activist), is now barred from publication.
Makor Rishon correspondent Hodaya Karish-Hazony, reports today that "Mem", the soldier who killed the terrorist yesterday in Jerusalem, had been severely beaten by police during an anti-disengagement protest that took place May 2005.As some of you may recall, "M" or "Mem" is not the first person who was beaten unconscious during the protests against the Gaza expulsion to become a hero in the IDF.
"Mem", who at the time was 17, was beaten unconscious by police as he photographed - from the sidewalk - a protest in Ramat Gan during which the road was blocked.
Karish-Hazony suggests that police decided to beat him unconscious even though he was standing on the sidewalk and not involved in blocking the road in an attempt to stop him from documenting the event.
"Mem" was detained and released several days later and his file was closed for "lack of evidence" - a move that left a police record that made it necessary for him to have to fight the IDF in order to be drafted into an elite unit.
Yediot Ahronot reports that it took "Mem" two years of arguing with the IDF before he was ultimately drafted into an elite unit.
Is the government - essentially the continuation of the Sharon-Olmert government that carried out the expulsion - finally ashamed?
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:16 PM
12 Comments:
No Carl - for if those in power had any shame they would never have capitulated to Hezbollah. They're simply incapable of human feeling or doing the principled and moral thing. They are embarrassed by Plesser having what they lack in themselves and that motivated them to make him disappear from the news more than any new found sense of shame. We would all like the tiger to change its stripes. Its too much to expect a change of behavior from the Omert-Barak-Livni-Yishai government.
I am not ashamed of Israel pulling out of Gaza...
It had to be done...
And the results?
A proper enemy is forming in Gaza, suitable for complete military destruction.
Israel now needs to look inside it'sself and determine which arab cities WITHIN 1948 borders should be unilaterally cut out and given to the arabs for self determination...
Time to rid it'sself of the 5th column that lives within...
moshe plesser- moshe plesser- moshe plesser- moshe plesser- moshe plesser- moshe plesser- moshe plesser- moshe plesser- moshe plesser- moshe plesser- moshe plesser- moshe plesser- moshe plesser- moshe plesser- moshe plesser- moshe plesser-
Let this hero's name ring out from the mountaintops.
For crying out loud, how stupid can they be?
I mean, seriously. Have they never heard of the Internet? Do they really think people don't know Moshe Plesser's name? (I'm writing from the middle of America. I'm not covered by an Israeli court order. :-))
What could possibly be the point of banning publication of his name, from any perspective at all?
I guess I'd better do a download of that interview with him and the other guy (Orom?) who confirms that Plesser killed the bad guy, before the interview is "disappeared."
Question: has it been discounted that "MEM" is serving in an elite unit and that it's a secuirty matter that he not be identified?
Oy Gevalt! Talk about closing the barn door after the horse has gotten out!
Moshe Moshe Moshe. Let every one say his name aloud. Try banning that, fools.
But it's shutting the barn door after the horse is out. It seems to me that such a petty and useless act is more likely for a petty motive than from a real security concern. A real security person would realize the pointlessness of it. But a petty bureaucrat who wanted to deny the guy credit might do it just to get back.
Plesser is a hero.
But why didn't the cop shoot the POS? Was the cop a dovbear/adam shapiro liberal from hell? was he trying to be "sensitive", "understanding his rage", or feeling that the "terrorist is the real victim"
Oh the irony, "M" acts in accord w/the Bible's commands re: the land while the government directly disobeys them and the government thinks they can blot out *his* name!
Shy Guy,
If that were the issue, they would also not have deleted all references to a 'soldier' having killed the terrorists. But if you go to all the old links from Wednesday, you will likely find that every one of them says 'police' and makes no mention of a soldier.
Besides, what does the name of a low-ranking soldier matter, even if he is in an elite unit? I would think there would be more danger of the terrorist's family coming to his house to try to take revenge regardless of whether he's in an elite unit. He obviously doesn't fear that - he wrote the statement that I posted on Wednesday.
Daniel,
More likely he feared being prosecuted under the absurd 'open fire' rules that have become increasingly strict over the past several years.
Most of the rank and file cops are not leftists. Their commanders and the state's attorney's office are.
There's now this claim going around (with "high praise") that a female cop _had_ shot the guy before Plesser got up in the cockpit. That is to some extent borne out by Plesser's own statement that at first it appeared that the terrorist had "fainted over the wheel." That didn't last, however. He started back up again and hit the gas, screaming "Allahu Akbar," before Plesser took him out. Now apparently this female cop is being named all over and isn't afraid of getting in trouble over the "open fire" rules. So that's a puzzle.
Could you tell your American readers more about what these "open fire" rules are, Carl? They sound bizarre. Thanks.
The rules I think forbid the police from firing at a terrorist suspect unless they're fired upon first. As Carl said, its absurd and Israeli rank and file cops aren't leftists but their hands are tied by the brass and political superiors who are leftists - as well as the state prosecutors. And no cop wants to find himself indicted and prosecuted for trying to stop an Arab from killing Jews even when its justified. So that's why the cops stand by and do nothing. I don't approve of it but I understand that they think its just too much of hassle to protect people on the streets with the regulatory framework in which they must operate. The lesson here is that average Israelis will have to protect themselves since their own government is not going to come to their rescue.
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