The presence of a former government minister and member of Knesset among the plaintiffs got me thinking. Why is this suit being brought in Belgium, and not in Israel? After all, the crimes were committed in Israel, and Israelis were the targets. The plaintiffs are Israeli, their lawyer is Israeli, and the story is getting lots of media attention in Israel, probably more than in Belgium. There is no question that Israel has the legal jurisdiction to try such a case.
But then I got to thinking some more. Would the Israeli court system ever consider trying such a case? Perhaps some judges in the lower courts would be amenable, but when the charges are genocide and crimes against humanity, the trial would very quickly find itself in the Supreme Court – a place more prone to political decision-making than judicial rulings.
Once politics enters the arena, nothing is certain in Israel but the high value of the entertainment. But entertainment is not what these bereaved families – or this bereaved nation – seeks in such a suit. Justice is what is sought.
The current Intifadah, like the one before it and all terrorism prior and in between, is unjust. That Arabs are given free rein in Israel to go where they please, do as they please, murder whom they please, and demand that the world come to their aid is unjust. That Jews are forbidden by law from travel in areas of our own homeland is unjust. That we are prevented by fear from traveling in still more areas is unjust. That there are more Jews killed in Israel due to their Jewishness than anywhere else is unjust.
Israel is the Jewish homeland, and Jews are crying out for Justice. But in the political atmosphere of Israel, justice is the last thing Jews can expect. Where law enforcement fails, politicians can be trusted to ensure that justice remains unserved.
And so 30 bereaved Jews, representing the rent heart and soul of our nation, must travel to Belgium – a country where our very own Prime Minister might be brought to trial – to seek justice for their grievances. That is very sad.
It is also a fundamental problem hampering the development of the State of Israel as a democracy and a state of freedom for its nation. The leaders in Israel do not even realize this problem exists, much less how it can be solved.
The distinct lack of Jewish awareness and Jewish values that can be ascribed to the leaders of the Jewish State does not bode well for the future of the State, or of the nation that calls it home. Until the state of affairs in Israel changes to one where Jews can be assured of protection and justice as a national right, the very future of the Jewish State is in peril.
Copyright 2001. Yehuda Poch is a writer living in Israel. Reproduction in electronic or print format by permission only.
