Sunday, June 25, 2023, 12:03 Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, the Chief Rabbi of Tzfat, sharply criticized the judicial system following the detentions by the GSS of the friends of the Eli murder victims. Rabbi Eliyahu recorded a video clip stating that the judicial system is discriminating between Jewish youths and Arab residents of Galilee who burn down businesses as part of a protection racket.
Rabbi Eliyahu: “In Galilee, there is a phenomenon that is not universally known. It is well-known in southern Israel, sometimes in Tel Aviv – a protection racket. Criminals want to extort money from business owners. They set buses on fire, and trucks, and businesses. [The victims] go to the police, and the police say, ‘We know about it, but we don’t have any proof.’ So how about bringing in the GSS and implementing administrative detentions? No. Everything continues as usual. Not a week goes by without buses and trucks being set on fire. Insurance companies no longer want to insure the vehicles.
“Suddenly, one hears that there was an attack and four Jews were murdered. People are angry. Cars are set on fire, and houses. Suddenly, there are administrative detentions. Why? With Jews, it’s allowed and with Arabs in Galilee, it’s forbidden? Are there two systems of law in this country? Is this acceptable to you? Acceptable to anyone? The UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights includes a verse of Jewish law from thousands of years ago: ‘You will have one manner of law…’ [Lev. 24:22] A country that does not have one system of law cannot be considered to have a system of law, but rather a system of injustice.* May we merit a genuine judicial system,” added Rabbi Eliyahu. (* In the Hebrew original, Rabbi Eliyahu used a play on words comparing mishpat – law – with mishpah – distortion of justice.)
Rabbi Eliyahu recorded the video clip following the detention of friends of the Eli terror attack victims by the GSS last week. The detainees have not been allowed to meet with an attorney and their status is not known. Honenu Attorneys Adi Keidar and Nati Rom strongly criticized the prohibition of meeting with an attorney. Attorney Rom: “It is very unfortunate that the GSS and the police are using extreme means on Jews, including residents of Yehuda and Shomron, instead of eradicating terror. We see terrible things happening in other sectors, such as the use of illegal weapons, but in neither the north nor the south of Israel are detainees prevented from meeting with an attorney.”
Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu on discrimination by the judicial system (Hebrew)