Honenu Director to Tag Meir: Do Jewish minors have rights?

Monday, December 31, 2018, 9:10 On the morning of Monday, December 31, the Director of Honenu, Shmuel (Zangi) Meidad leveled criticism at calls from the Tag Meir organization and its Chairman, Gadi G’varyahu, supporting the brutal interrogation of the Jewish minors who were detained the previous day on suspicion of involvement with a nationalistically motivated incident, the details of which are under a gag order.
“Where is Gadi G’varyahu, the social justice warrior? Where is his activism for human rights and human dignity? When it comes to the rights of Jewish minors all human rights disappear? No holds barred? It’s acceptable to interrogate them as no-one else in the State is interrogated? All legal procedures, the Youth Law, and all the extensive rulings on the rights of interrogated detainees have been scrapped?” asked Meidad of G’varyahu.
“I would like to inform you that the democracy that you hold so dear, and the equality of which you sing high praises, are applicable also to Jewish minors being interrogated by the GSS. Unfortunately we did not hear your voice when terrorist minors carried out attacks, such as the stabbing of Vered Edrei, and others, after which they were released without being charged with attempted murder. Or when terrorists were interrogated with kid gloves. In those cases the rights of the injured did not interest you? Where does your heart lie when Jews are fighting for survival in Israel?” added Meidad. His response followed public advertisements from Tag Meir calling on Honenu to cease defending the rights of the minors and on the security forces to continue handling the investigation as they have been.
The investigation refers to the three Jewish minors who were detained yesterday (Sunday), transferred to the GSS for interrogation, and prevented from meeting with an attorney. Their condition is unknown. Later today the minors will be brought to a deliberation at which they will be represented by Honenu Attorneys Adi Keidar and Nati Rom and by Attorney Itamar Ben Gvir.
On Sunday, December 30, the father of one of the minors uploaded a post that went viral: “He was taken out of his class in front of all his classmates and the high-school yeshiva in Rechalim. He is a normative 16-year old youth, who spends most of his time studying and praying. We, his parents, are certain that he did not do anything and that all of the charges against him are baseless libel. We as parents are very worried that the GSS will torture him physically and emotionally. Past experience indicates that they have dared to do so, and our feeling is that someone who has the wrong look does not have rights.
“We strongly beseech and demand that he be transferred to the police, that he immediately be allowed to see an attorney and to see us, and that he receive the proper treatment to which everyone, and certainly a minor, is entitled. We are sure that his innocence will be proven immediately and that he will be released to return to his family and his studies,” wrote the father.
Update: Monday, December 31, 2018, 9:52 Shortly before 10:00, the deliberation at the Central District Court in Lod began on the appeal filed by the minors’ attorneys demanding that the minors be allowed to meet with them.