                                                               
                      A Voice from Hebron
                     by Gary M. Cooperberg
                 Jewish Right and Jewish Wrong
                  Do You know the Difference?
                        October 9, 1997
                                
     Everyone knows that I am no fan of Prime Minister Netanyahu.  But, rest assured, I will not
get on the bandwagon to condemn him for the foiled attempted assassination of a Hamas terrorist
leader in Jordan.  Netanyahu is the first Jewish prime minister to admit to officially ordering an
assassination of an enemy of  the Jewish people!  For that alone he deserves praise.  I just find it
hypocritical that, on the one hand he truly seeks to destroy terror by striking out at terrorist leaders
wherever they may be, yet, on the other hand, he encourages terror by continuing to negotiate with the
veritable symbol of Arab terror, Arafat.
     Secondly, I must admit my admiration for the Prime Minister in another area.  The United
States government has asked for the extradition of a Jewish young man who is suspected of
committing murder in the United States and who then fled to Israel.   As of this writing, Prime
Minister Netanyahu has rejected the request.  That is a mitzvah and a kiddush HaShem (a
sanctification of the Name of G-d).  
     I fully realize that the B'nai B'rith disagrees vehemently with me.  I also understand why. 
While they may be a Jewish organization, their motivations are hardly based upon Jewish values.  All
they think about is their image in the eyes of American public opinion.  How does it reflect upon Jews
in America for a Jew to commit a crime and then escape to safety from punishment by running to
Israel?
     The issue here is far more than crime and punishment.  When a Jew is under the protection of
a Jewish government, it is a violation of Torah law to hand him over to non Jews.  If it is alleged that
this Jew committed a crime, then he should be tried in Israel and, if found guilty, punished in Israel. It
matters not whether he is a citizen of Israel. . . only that he is a Jew.  All Jews have an obligation to
stand behind this principle.  The leaders of B'nai B'rith should be chastised for their cowardly and non
Jewish stance on such a clear matter of Jewish morality.
     And, in Israel too, we have a problem with discerning matters of simple Jewish morality. . 
knowing the difference between right and wrong.  In any society it is wrong to turn murderers loose. 
President Ezer Weizman has, on more than one occasion, deliberately decided to release convicted
murderers of Jews.  As President of the Jewish State he has the power to arbitrarily pardon any and all
prisoners.   For strictly political reasons he has turned Arab terrorists free in the past.
     Since the President himself has already set the precedent for making such decisions, one would
expect him to at least express  remorse for, in effect, committing a crime against his own people. The
very least one might expect in reaction for, what he felt was, an unavoidable political decision, would
be for him to simply pardon all Jewish prisoners of conscience who are sitting in jail for killing or
attacking our enemies.
     But, far more to the point, we have an extreme example of Jewish injustice which is about to
take place on October 26 of this year.  A young Jewish housewife, a recent immigrant from the former
Soviet Union, is scheduled to begin serving an eighteen month prison sentence for the "crime" of using
her personal licensed weapon to defend herself while under attack three years ago just before Yom
Kippur.  Such weapons are issued to Jews for the purpose of defending themselves against Arab
terrorists.  Nowhere on the license does it state that the gun may not be used to defend yourself.  On
the contrary.  That is the precise reason why the license was issued!  Yet here, when a law abiding
citizen found herself in a life threatening situation and used her weapon exactly as she was legally
required to, she is being punished!!  It is true that one of her attackers was killed by her weapon.  But
any honest individual must know that a gun is a weapon  whose function is to kill.  It was not for sport
that she fired her weapon,  rather in fear for her own life and that of other family members in her car
while under mob attack, including her terrified mother who is a holocaust survivor.
     When an Arab throws a fire bomb at a bus, and no one gets hurt, the Arab goes free.  Even
though there can be no doubt that his intent was to murder, he goes free.  When a Jew uses a licensed
weapon to protect her life, and kills one or more of her attackers, not because she wants to kill, rather
because she prefers not to be killed, she is then punished.
     Not only is this a crime against the young woman, it is a crime against every Jew in Israel who
may need to defend his life against terrorists.  If even one Jew reacts to this sentence by slowing his
response to an enemy while under attack, and by so doing gets murdered, the blood of  that Jew is on
the head of the court which issued such a dastardly ruling.
     It is incumbent upon Ezer Weizman, as President of the Jewish State, to unconditionally
pardon Ilana Podolsky immediately.  Further he should both issue her an apology on behalf of the
government of Israel and award her with a medal for bravery.
     Especially at this time of year, we Jews should still be in a state of introspection and awe of
our Creator.  Consider this tremendous act of injustice and personally take a few minutes to do
something about it.  President Weizman has the power to undo this injustice.  If enough people write to
him and demand that he pardon Ilana, he may be influenced to do so.  I am calling upon all who read
this to immediately write a short and simple letter to President Weizman, Jerusalem Israel, and ask
him to pardon Ilana Podolsky.  And please ask all of your friends and relatives to do the same.  
     I know this woman.  She lives and works in Kiryat Arba and has always been a good neighbor. 
She and her husband are gentle, hard working Jews who just want to live peacefully in the Jewish
homeland.  They are not political activists nor "rabble rousers". . . just good citizens and good Jews. 
May your act of  compassion for them bring you blessings of Divine Compassion for you and your
family for the New Year.
     