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Law and Order

Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.

‍‍יג חשון תשסט - Nov 11th, 2008
by LB.
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It seems that some justice might finally be served, as Ivan Demjanjuk, will hopefully be put on trial for his crimes at Sobibor, in Germany, no less.

Ivan Demjanjuk was a Ukrainian who, after WWII, became a naturalized U.S. citizen, only to have his citizenship revoked in the early 1980s. He was found to have lied on his U.S. immigration application, having served as an SS guard at both Treblinka and Sobibor.

Suspected of being Treblinka’s Ivan the Terrible, responsible to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Jews, Demjanjuk was extradited to Israel in 1986. Based on various pieces of evidence, he was sentenced to death by hanging in 1988 (Israeli law allows capital punishment for crimes against humanity).

Due to various discrepancies during the trial, including evidence linking him to Sobibor at the same time Ivan the Terrible was at Treblinka, his conviction was overturned in 1993. An additional trial, for his crimes at Sobibor, was not held because of a technicality. He was extradited from the U.S. to be tried as Ivan the Terrible, and trying him again based on the same extradition would constitute double jeopardy (which is allowed in Israel, but not the U.S.).

After returning to the U.S. and losing a long battle with the INS, Demjanjuk was scheduled to be deported to the Ukraine. Now Germany has filed for extradition so that he will brought on charges for the responsibility of killing 29,000 Jews at Sobibor.

I hope they finally succeed in putting him behind bars for the remainder of his life. Unfortunately he will be in prison, and not suffering like his victims did in the hell known as Sobibor. May he rot in hell.

Law and Order in Israel?

‍‍יב חשון תשסט - Nov 10th, 2008
by LB.
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Being a criminal in Israel has long been a less dangerous pursuit that it is in say, the U.S. Benny Sela, the infamous serial rapist, was sentenced to 35 years behind bars for committing no less than 24 rapes and sexual assaults. A simple search online reveals that for committing four rapes, an Ohio rapist was recently sentenced to 94 years in prison.

This disparity in sentencing can be seen in “lesser” crimes, as well. An attempted murderer at the 2005 gay pride parade in Jerusalem was sentenced to 12 years in jail. This, compared to the 51 year sentence handed down in Virginia last month.

Recent sentencing, however might be showing signs of improvement. In 2006, one man stabbed another, to death, when both were hitchhiking in the Galil. The murderer stabbed the victim in the stomach, who then chased after him for revenge, only to be stabbed repeatedly in the neck, ultimately killing him.

The murderer was sentenced to 25 years in prison (Hebrew), which seems to be a more appropriate than a four year sentence for stabbing your wife in front of your daugher (sorry, also Hebrew).

Now, if only the police did their jobs, too…

EDIT: NG has alerted me to a mistake I made – Benny Sela did indeed escape while being transferred, not while on furlough. It is still ridiculous that criminals get “vacations” from jail-time.

Israelis and Drugs and India, Oh My

‍‍א חשון תשסט - Oct 30th, 2008
by LB.
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I understand the appeal of drugs. I also understand the appeal of money. However, when those two are combined with stupidity, it results, more often that not, in bad decisions.

A 22-year old Israeli, like many others his age, traveled throughout India and had a great time. During his trip he encountered the wonder that is Himalayan-grown hash, and probably enjoyed it a great deal. He decided he didn’t want the fun to end and that he could probably also make a quick buck by introducing Israelis who have not been to India to that same wonder.

This guy came up with an idea (sorry, couldn’t find an English version), which I’m sure he thought was brilliant and fool-proof. Why not swallow dozens of grams of hash before the flight home? Surely, he would outsmart the Israeli authorities at the airport. His luck ran out, however, and shortly after landing, he was arrested and had an x-ray taken of his stomach. He was then placed in a bathroom stall while detectives of the Tel Aviv District waited for him to “do his business.” His arraignment is scheduled for tomorrow.

India really is a wonderful place, and in India, like in many other third-world countries, many bend and break the law with few consequences (not that I advocate doing so). When approaching the end of such a long trip in India, many travelers are not very eager to leave, and want to prolong the “India experience” as much as possible. Too often, this gives some people a distorted view of reality, and so they attempt something stupid, and end up being taught a lesson the hard way. Why do so many keep doing this? Can they really not foresee the outcome?

Criminals Belong in Jail

‍‍כט תשרי תשסט - Oct 28th, 2008
by LB.
1 comment

Last basketball season, Yossi Malach threw a firecracker onto the court during a game in Jerusalem, resulting in the Yoav Glizenstein, a security guard’s, loss of two fingers. About a month ago, he was sentenced to three years in prison and 150,000 NIS in compensation, to be paid to Glizenstein.

This complete douchebag is now appealing his sentence (sorry, only in Hebrew), claiming the sum of money the court ordered him to pay the security guard is much higher than truly appropriate. His lawyers assert that this is Malach’s first encounter with the law, and that he has expressed remorse for his actions. Therefore the punishment handed down is too “severe” only in order to serve as a warning (למען יראו וייראו – so that people will see and fear) to future offenders.

First of all, BS. This is likely Malach’s first encounter with the law only because the police in Israel are so incompetent and lazy. If the police actually did their job, he probably would have a fairly full rap sheet.

Second of all, who cares? Even if this was his first offense, and that he was a good boy up until that day, how does that exculpate him, or even minimize the offense in any way? He knowingly brought contraband into the stadium that day, with the intension to use it (why else would he smuggle in a firecracker?), and fully cognizant of the harm it could cause.

Third, with the current state of crime in Israel, meting out punishments as a deterrent is not a half bad idea. In any case, the last people who have any right to complain about it are the offenders themselves. If you don’t like the punishment – don’t commit the crime in the first place.

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