Tuesday, May 2, 2023, 18:34 On Tuesday, May 2, Honenu Attorney Moshe Poleski took part in a plenum session of the Knesset Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee on law enforcement regarding crimes of incitement to violence. He pointed out the stringent treatment of Jews as opposed to the lenient treatment of Arabs.
Attorney Poleski said, “We frequently see excessive motivation by the State Attorney’s Office to put Jews on trial for incitement to violence, whereas they tread lightly regarding Arabs [accused of similar crimes]. Inappropriate or senseless comments by Jews are treated as crimes of incitement, even though they do not result in acts of violence and are usually made after Arab terror attacks have been carried out. In contrast, Arabs who actively incite violence, receive support and sympathy from their communities, and their acts of incitement, which lead to the murder of Jews, are not investigated.
“The State Attorney’s Office selectively enforces [incitement] laws against Jews. [For example,] in the case of the incident known as the ‘Wedding of Hate,’ and concerning the investigation of former Knesset Member Michael Ben Ari, who is suffering from delayed justice to this day. The time has come for this perception to change. The time has come for the State Attorney’s Office to distinguish between brothers and enemies.”
See also Honenu Attorney Moshe Poleski’s participation in a plenum session of the Knesset Committee for Internal Security in October 2021: “Selective law enforcement regarding incitement”. The investigation of former Knesset Member Michael Ben Ari and the “Wedding of Hate” case were topics of discussion then as well.
At a December 2015 wedding, participants were seen waving weapons and photographs of the infant who died in the July 2015 arson incident in Kfar Duma. The wedding became known as the “Wedding of Hate”.
See here and here for two instances of central evidence lost by the police in the “Wedding of Hate” case, and here for a false detention in the case, for which the detainee received compensation.
In April this year, the Jerusalem Magistrates Court sentenced the groom from the incident known as the “Wedding of Hate” to four months of community service (commuted prison sentence), and a guest was sentenced to 180 hours of service for the public good. Two months prior, four additional minors who attended the wedding were convicted of incitement to terror and violence by the District Court after the Magistrates Court acquitted them. The acquittal of a fifth minor was upheld by the District Court.