Israeli Army Now BLACKMAILING Lital bas Miriam:
Accept SIX MONTHS of Military Jail Without a Fight -- or Face Years in Jail in Without A Fair Trial
The Crusade to Terrorize Girls Into Army Enlistment Escalates Dramatically
14 Shvat, 5780 °° Feb. 9, '20
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Refusenik Updates:
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LITAL BAS MIRIAM:
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2. Last Tuesday, Feb. 4, Lital
had yet another military court hearing. Chillingly, the prosecution
(i.e., the Army) wanted to hit her with an extraordinarily brutal
sentence. Just how long? Judging from the "compromise" that the Judge
reportedly directed the prosecution to consider, the Army wanted to
imprison Lital not - G-d forbid - for days, weeks, or even months -- but
for YEARS! We are informed by someone in the know that this is no
ploy; the Army is apparently "out for blood." It is our duty to ensure
that it's not her blood - or that of any innocent person - that they
get.
3. An important question here is:
why is the Israeli Army trying to impose such a draconian punishment on
this non-violent, 26 y/o "threat to national security?" Granted,
according to the Army, Lital is long-term "draft-dodger," [sic] -- being
"absent for years" from the military - in which enlistment is strictly
prohibited by Jewish Law, to the extent we are all required to give up
our lives to ensure girls are not drafted. But why a sentence so
extraordinary brutal?
4. Clearly, the
extraordinary length of the desired sentence appears to be indicative of
the Army motivation operative here. It's not that they're prosecuting
and persecuting this young lady IN SPITE OF of her dedication to the
Torah prohibition against enlistment in the notoriously promiscuous
Israeli military. In that case, they would temper their vindictiveness
with a veneer of token lucidity. Rather, it's precisely BECAUSE of her
steadfast dedication to safeguarding her purity and her religious values
that the Israeli Army is persecuting Lital.
[Be
aware that perhaps over a fifth of the roughly 55-60 girls(!) now
incarcerated in Israeli military prisons are conscripts imprisoned
because they wanted to shift to alternative positions in the Army. When
they finish their sentence, they often get what they want. Contrast
that treatment with the antireligious abuse of girls who are religious
objectors.]
5. Moreover, not only does
the Army aim to break Lital, they also want to terrorize many other
girls and women standing up to the Army's crusade to force women into
the immoral, exploitative military. Clearly, this young lady has been
targeted to serve as a sacrificial lamb, a "Korban," to
"Maitav" (the Draft Office), in order to strike terror into the hearts
of even some of the strongest, most devoted girls and women resisting
the Army draft.
6. That's not all. Last
Tuesday, the Judge directed the prosecution to strike a "compromise"
with the defense. That "compromise" reportedly involves imposing a
"settlement" on Lital - that requires she agree to a staggering SIX
MONTHS in Military Prison, without even allowing her a chance to fight
for her religious and human rights in court.
7.
In essence, this "compromise offer" itself is judicial blackmail:
either agree to a half a year without fighting for your rights, or else
face the tyranny of years in Military Prison, all without the chance to a
fair fight in court (see posts above). Or else, give up and enlist to
serve the male officers in the IDF as "Mizron Tzahali."
Moreover,
the litany of illicit and illegal actions of the Draft Office, and the
Prison System, all provide additional clarification as to why the
government is blackmailing Lital into giving up before even beginning
her legal battle in earnest: they don't want all of their illegalities
and corruption involved in this case to be exposed to the Free World. In
other words, the government is acting like guilty bullies normally act:
they terrorize the victim commensurate with their guilt, in order to
cover it up. (This pattern of malfeasance should be familiar to those
who've dealt with child molesters and similar criminals.)
Plea-deals often make sense - for guilty people. But this is plain judicial tyranny.
8.
Above all, this travesty is a clear case of the Army terrorizing an
innocent religious woman for remaining steadfast in her adherence to the
Torah prohibition against enlistment in the immoral, exploitative
military. If this abomination would be perpetrated anywhere else in the
world, we'd call it what it is: Jew-Hatred, of the worst sort.
It's noteworthy that Lital is a "Bas-Cohen" (the daughter of a Cohen, descending from priestly lineage). The last
time the precursors of the ruling antireligious Hellenistic
Establishment tried forcing a Bas Cohen into a similarly repugnant
arrangement - with a Greek officer ("Hegmon") - over 2,100 years ago -
we procured a new Holiday (Chanukah). That occurred in the wake of the
bloody Civil War triggered by the priestly brothers of Yehudis. Her
brothers, and the many Jews who joined them, opted to fight, and
ultimately defeat the enemy, rather than let their sisters and daughters
be treated as "Mizron Yevani."
9. As
explained in previous posts, all of this torment struck Lital in the
wake of her naively submitting to a Religiosity Interview ("Rayon Dat")
over seven years ago, around the the time she finished school. At that
time, the (female) Draft Officer tripped Lital up on a question about
the Reading of the Torah, something from which women are generally
exempt, by Jewish Law. It was a question that should not have even be
asked. At this time, it appears that under the pretext of that, and
perhaps some other similarly irrelevant questions, Maitav (the Draft
Office) refused to provide Lital the religious exemption to which she
was entitled. (See also:
10.
Subsequently, Lital reportedly got mixed messages, and never got a
conclusive picture of her final draft status. Like thousands of other
girls, she never got any documentation to clarify her draft status one
way or the other. Additionally, Lital was apparently misled by Border
Police. Her family claims that immediately prior to her surprise-arrest at the airport in mid-January, she repeatedly checked with Israeli Border Police. They
told her that she's ok to travel, without concern of her name being on
the list of non-exempted girls. When she arrived at the airport, they
arrested her, to the shock of her parents.
Did Israeli Border Police intentionally
give Lital misinformation to ambush her? If so, that would explain why
the Army consistently refuses to comply with the government requirement
that the Army notify the girls shortly after they submit their
religiosity certification. This way, they can entrap girls anytime the
opportunity presents itself, and then use the threat of extended
incarceration in the brutal military prison environment as blackmail -
to force religious girls into the Army, all in flagrant violation of the
Torah.
11. Lital's next hearing is set
to be held this coming Monday, Feb. 10 (Parshas Yisro). Prior to that,
Lital is expected to make a THIRD visit to an Army officer who could
potentially help arrange for a military-service exemption. The previous
two visits failed to help her, however. It's quite apparent that
they're all playing games, with her life on the line.
12.
In addition, it was reported that her right of communication (already
severely limited) has been [illegally] impeded by the prison
authorities, on multiple occasions. How can Lital possibly ensure a
semblance of a fair hearing and a proper arrangement of an exemption -
especially when the stakes are so monumental - without the ability to
communicate with whomever she needs to?
13.
This barbaric, anti-Jewish abuse of an innocent young lady cannot be
allowed to pass quietly. For instance, Gedolim in the past had helped
organize womens' demonstrations against the government, over the
drafting of girls. It is so much more necessary, and so much more
technically feasible nowadays.
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14.
Shockingly, there are currently approximately 55-60 girls and women
imprisoned in Israeli Military Prison. True, not every imprisoned girl
is necessarily in jail for refusing to serve in the Army. Some are
incarcerated for other reasons (including seeking to be shifted to an
alternative position in the military). But, regardless, the Israeli
government has no right to enlist females; therefore they has no right
to impose Army regimen on them. All the more so, they have no right to
impose military incarceration.
15. Ta'i ["Ta-ee"] bas Oshrah has
been imprisoned in Military Prison Six in the North for over a week for
her refusal to enlist in the Army.
16. Another girl, Mai, was reportedly just released from Military Prison Four about a week ago, B"H.
17.
Another religious girl, Tal-Yah bas Liz, continues to languish in
Military Prison Four for her refusal to serve in the Army. So far, she's
been suffering there for an outrageous amount of time, about EIGHT
weeks total.
18. Another religious girl, an
immigrant from France, Rivka No'a bas Yehudis, has been similarly
incarcerated for an outrageous amount of time, (also) approaching TWO
MONTHS, in Military Prison Six. She was notified that she will get an
exemption from Army service, BE"H. However, despite that exemption, they
insist on keeping her imprisoned until she completes the 12-day
punitive sentence handed up Jan. 30.
Bear in
mind that even though she ostensibly submitted her religiosity
certification late, there is additional reason to have waived that minor
technical infraction: she is much needed to care for her disabled
father. Her father was severely injured in a car-crash two years ago,
and still cannot walk or properly function on his own.
This
persecution of girls with seriously ill parents or siblings is a
consistently recurring theme in the narrative of female military
incarceration in Israel. It's frequency really warrants a dedicated
expose, perhaps entitled "Government Klinghoffer Syndrome."
~~~
19. One of the outstanding questions here is:
Where
are the ostensibly rightwing and religious Knesset members? Even just
prior to a high-stakes election (a third consecutive election at that),
they cannot muster the self-interest-impelled gumption to raise a
massive alarm over these blatant and unrelenting evils, assaults against
Jewish girls that threaten the very future of the Jewish People?
20. Another is: Is this genre of anti-religious persecution of Jewish women the price that righteous Israeli
women must pay to ensure that ostensibly "rightwing" and religious
"representatives" continue to hold seats in the Knesset?
~~~
21. Also see:
