R. Tzvi Weinberg Account of Ascherman Proceedings

Rabbi Tzvi Weinberg, former chair of Rabbis for Human Rights, wrote this account of the hearing on Rabbi Arik Ascherman's arrest:

It is Friday noon (March 14, 2008), and I just returned from the law court in Jerusalem where five people came to support Arik after his arrest yesterday, and to protest the injustice of his detention. Besides my wife and myself, Rabbi Barry Leff and his wife and a 79 year old activist from Netanya who has participated in RHR programs were there.

It was a most upsetting, disquieting, and depressing experience. First, some 10 young men, teenage Arab youth none of whom appeared to be more than 16 years old, were led into the court shackled hand and foot for very brief hearings. I do not know what their offenses were. Then Arik came, chained hand and foot into the chamber after having spent the night in jail.

Our lawyer made a gallant effort to present Arik's defense, in less than 5 minutes. A policeman indicated, in even less time, the nature of his offense, and the judge came to his decision -- asking no questions of Arik or his lawyer, even cutting short the latter's attempts to clarify the issues. The procedure was perfunctory and ineffective.

It is not completely clear, even now, just what Arik was accused of. His offense apparently stemmed from the activities of El Ad, a right wing group which has been given exclusive control over archeological activities in Silwan, which have been causing damage to and even collapse of some Arab housing in the area. Arik was charged with telling local residents not to listen to the police. In order to gain his release from prison, Arik reluctantly signed a document saying that he would stay away from the area for a period of 15 days. Most likely, he will be appealing the agreement next week.

I was most upset at the atmosphere in the court and the attitude of the judiciary and the police. Little effort was made to effectively clarify the issues and to see justice and fairness done. Most upsetting was the contention of Arik's lawyer that she was not able to risk bringing Palestinian witnesses to the court because in the past, these witnesses were usually arrested on the spot.

I am pleased that Arik is back home, especially for Shabbat. He needs our support and involvement as he strives to champion the cause of justice, compassion, and decency.

Shabbat Shalom

Tzvi Weinberg