Rape

My uncle tells me that one of the main things to keep in mind when trying to talk to Israelis is that "no" doesn't really mean no. I think Reagan said the same thing about Russians. Perhaps it is merely an unrelated fact that my aunt complains that rape in this country is a trivialized crime with people getting out after a year. Thank God, that as far as I know, nobody in her circle was ever a victim, but you read about cases in the paper around twice a week. When they do actually mention the results of a trial, you cringe as you almost never see a guy who serves more than three years for violating a woman. I think it's horrible.

Anyway, as I said before, the Independence Day celebration this year lasted over three days. Wild parties, binge drinking etc. The streets in downtown Jerusalem were packed, filled with everybody and their brothers, anybody their brothers had ever met, and anybody who had ever been to school with anybody that their brothers had ever met, or anybody who had ever seen them in the street. It was that insane. Downtown Jerusalem was way past capacity.

The night life facilities of Jerusalem is basically in a three block radius of the Ben Yehuda Mall. People are by no means lacking in choices of where to go, but this is for all intents and purposes the party district. The largest dance club, and most expensive, is definitely The Underground. Huge, fun place, everybody goes there, cover charges, charges for everything, ID checks, this is the spot. So, it was rather strange that in Jerusalem, on the busiest day in anybody's memory, The Underground would be closed. Everybody in my group was stumped, the only idea being the lame psuedo explanation comparing it to how alcoholics don't drink on New Year's Eve.

It wasn't until two days later that we found out. Apparently, it had been in the papers and we had missed it. Six bouncers at The Underground had ganged raped a patron. The bar had to pay some nominal fine of twenty thousand shekels, (roughly six thousand dollars) and had to be closed for thirty days. The article which had reported this a few weeks earlier had said that the management was not that disturbed, because most of the thirty days were during the omer, a time when Jews are not supposed to party, and that generally during that time, the profits are generally around 15% lower.

Apparently, they weren't able to count that thirty days would include the weekend where other bars would report receipt totals in a three day weekend that they would normally consider above average for a time period of three months.

Haha, or as they say here, magiya lahem.

Yes, it's pathetic that the bouncers were probably out in time to see the American Independence day, and yes, the punishments sh\could have been more severe, but still, it's nice to know that for once somebody really had to pay, and it is a step in the right direction. I still think it's a sick flaw in the legal system here, though.

Get me outa here!!!

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---

Michael Kadish

"When anyone is held up, he shall immediately telephone the details to a telephone operator. She will plug in every phone in the city and relate the details of the holdup. Near every telephone is to be a shotgun, hanging on the wall. When the story of the holdup is spread through the phones every citizen will seize his shotgun, and rush to the street. All whistles will blow, and at this signal all traffic, including pedestrians, will halt. Anyone besides law officers who moves will be shot." -- George W. Durham, proposition to stop crime in Kansas City

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