Six MONTHS In Jail -- for WHAT??!
The Crusade to Terrorize Girls Into Army Enlistment Escalates Dramatically
12 Shvat, 5780 °° Feb. 7, '20
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Refusenik Updates:
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LITAL BAS MIRIAM:
~~~
2. On this past 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. 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
religious beliefs. In that case, they would temper their bloodlust 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. They want to break her, and
terrorize all of the other girls and women standing up to the Army's
antireligious crusade to force women into the immoral, exploitative
military. G-d willing, that attempt will fail, and ultimately backfire.
5.
Clearly, this young lady, a daughter of Kohanim, has been branded for
serving as the "Korban" to "Maitav" (the Draft Office), a sacrificial
lamb, in order to strike terror into the hearts of even some of the
strongest, most devoted religious girls and women avoiding the Army.
6.
That's not all. On 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 a court.
Plea
deals often make sense - for guilty people. But this is plain judicial
tyranny, being employed to advance the religious persecution of an
innocent Orthodox Jewess.
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). 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 to be exposed to the
Free World.
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.
9. As
explained in previous posts, all of this torment struck Lital in the
wake of her naively submitting to an 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. Apparently, under that transparent pretext,
Maitav (the Draft Office) refused to provide Lital the religious
exemption to which she was entitled. (See also:
10.
However, Lital reportedly 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.
~~~
14.
As of approximately two weeks ago, there were an estimated TWENTY
girls and women imprisoned in Military Prison Four alone, in addition to
all of those languishing in Prison Six (where Refuseniks are sometimes
intentionally tormented by exposure to the winter cold without
sufficient clothing). True, not every imprisoned girl is necessarily in
jail for refusing to serve in the Army. There may be some incarcerated
for other reasons. 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 at least a week for her refusal
to enlist in the Army.
16. Another girl, Mai, was reportedly just released from Military Prison Four several days ago, B"H.
17.
Another religious girl, Tal-Yah bas Rus /Liz, continues to languish in
Military Prison Four, reportedly enduring an insane 33-day sentence,
for her refusal to serve in the Army. So far, she's been suffering there
for about SEVEN weeks total.
18. Another
religious girl, an immigrant from France, Rivka No'a bas Yehudis, who
has been incarcerated for over TWO MONTHS in Military Prison Six, 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 last
Thursday.
~~~
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 (or even a minor) 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
barbaric anti-religious persecution of righteous Jewish women the price
of religious "representatives" sitting in the Knesset?
~~~
21. Also see:
