                                                  A Voice From Hebron
                     by Gary M. Cooperberg
                                
      The entire System of Government in Israel is Rotten
          An Eyewitness Account of Government Inspired
                        Police Brutality
                         July 18, 1995
     On Monday, July 17, 1995, I participated in a special program, initiated by Yeshivat Kiryat
Arba, in which a delegation of American and Canadian supporters of the Jewish State chose to
demonstrate that support by visiting communities throughout Judea, Samaria, Gaza and the Golan
Heights.
     Having visited with Jews from Beit Hadassah in Hebron on Shabbat, the group was shocked
to learn that several children had been arrested and imprisoned by the Israeli police.  In reaction they
decided to abandon immediate plans for the day and demonstrate their support for the imprisoned
children by going to the Russian Compound in Jerusalem where they were being held.  
     When we arrived we learned that the children were about to be arraigned in court.  Being that
the court building is open to the public, the group decided to try to attend the session to show their
support for the children.  When we found the courtroom, although the children had not yet arrived,
the forty plus visitors were told that they could not go inside.  So, rather than leave, we decided to
remain in the corridor.  I walked up to the guard at the door and presented my press credentials.  He
told me that I would be allowed to go inside and that I should just wait on the side.  
     While I was waiting, the police were becoming nervous about the rather large and unexpected
group of talkative foreigners.  They repeatedly told them to quiet down as even quiet conversation
was magnified by the acoustics in the narrow corridor.  It was a hot day and all of these factors added
to create an unnecessary amount of tension.  
     How it all started is not very clear, but it seems that one of the policemen threatened one of 
the young men with the group.  Rather than be bullied the young man stood up to the threats. 
Within seconds four policemen pounced upon him and dragged him from the corridor, placing him
under arrest.  Soon afterwards, from the other side of the corridor another young man was dragged
away, his shirt half torn off of him.  Then, without any warning, about six or eight hefty policemen
charged into the crowded corridor to forcibly clear the hall.  
     I was standing quietly at the front of the group and was totally shocked to have a policeman
literally plow into me.  I nearly fell on the floor but managed to avert the onslaught.  The others were
not so lucky.  An elderly Christian man, Waltere Zakes, who was along with the group to support
Jewish life in Israel, was knocked to the floor and kicked in the scuffle.  His face was bleeding and
he had to be taken to the hospital for treatment.  As he was lying on the floor and people were trying
to attend to him, another policeman pushed a young lady so that she literally fell on this poor man. 

     All that I have described here was shown on Israel national television on the second channel. 
While, of course the media made it seem as if a bunch of rowdy Americans caused an embarrassing
disorder just to make noise, and claims were made that some policemen were also injured, the facts
are just the opposite.  The group behaved with much order and respect.  It was the police who
instigated and caused the violence.  It was a miracle that more people were not seriously injured.
     In a public building one needs to maintain order.  But the authorities are expected to conduct
themselves in a manner of decency and respect.  It is simply not acceptable for public servants to
conduct themselves as zookeepers and treat the public as they would treat criminals in prison.  The
fact is that most of those police who guard the courtrooms are haughty and disrespectful and seek
to provoke innocent citizens into giving them an opportunity demonstrate their brutality.  This entire
event was provoked by an obnoxious policeman who chided a young man until he felt that he had the
right to brutalize him. . . which he did.  The end result was that the entire group was terrorized and
several people were injured.  No apologies were offered, and the police acted as if they had been the
victims!
     There are several possible motivations for such behavior.  The major one is that in order to
justify their barbaric behavior, the police consistently blame the victims.  Two Jewish mothers who
came to redeem their children from prison were themselves beaten by police.  One of them needed
to be hospitalized.
     There has been a specific and definitely planned effort to terrorize and brutalize any who
protest or demonstrate against the government.  It defies the imagination to even try to understand
how Jewish policemen can so eagerly  attack their own people.  Once we exchange Torah for
"higher" democratic or national goals which place the lives and safety of the population in lower
priority to the "greater" goal of "peace", we have embarked upon the road to self destruction.
     I am sorry to say that I do not seek refuge in new elections.  Many have chided me, telling me
that I must choose the lesser of two evils.  I live in the holy  Land of Israel.  I cannot and will never
choose any form of evil.  I will choose good, or not choose at all.  If one has a toothache, the dentist
can drill away the decay and repair the tooth.  If the entire tooth is decayed, however, it must simply
be removed altogether.  Our system of government is completely rotten and must be scrapped for a
better system. . ., a Jewish system.  It is time for our rabbis to appeal to the people to turn our
homeland back into the Jewish State which it was always meant to be.  Until we do, we will continue
to dance with Arafat and raise Jews who lift their hands against fellow Jews.  