A Wild Beast Of A Medical Doctor

Wikipedia on MK Ahmad Tibi:

Dr. Ahmad Tibi (Arabic: أحمد الطيبي‎, Hebrew: אחמד טיבי‎, sometimes spelt Ahmed Tibi, born 19 December 1958) is an Israeli politician and leader of the Arab nationalist party in Israel, Ta'al (the Arab Movement for Change). He currently serves as Deputy Speaker of the Knesset. He was elected on a joint ticket with the United Arab List to serve in Israel's parliament, the Knesset. He describes himself as Arab-Palestinian in nationality, and Israeli in citizenship.

Tibi is also a trained physician and graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Tibi lost it today:

For the first time in memory, a Knesset Member was forcibly removed from the podium: Arab MK Ahmed Tibi.

Tibi had been allotted the normal three minutes to speak about the recent trip he organized for Arab Knesset Members to Libya, at the invitation of Libyan dictator Muammar Gadaffi. The trip has been sharply criticized, and the participants are likely not to be allowed to run for Knesset, based on a law banning visits to enemy countries.

After several minutes, the acting Speaker, Likud MK Carmel Shama, asked Tibi to conclude and descend from the podium, as his allotted time had come to an end. Tibi refused, yelling at Shama, calling him names, and saying, “Get out of here.” “You’re using terrorism against me,” Tibi also accused, to which Shama replied, “The terrorism doesn’t generally come from our side.”

Finally, after about six minutes of arguing, Shama asked the Knesset ushers to come and remove Tibi forcibly. Tibi held on to the podium with both hands, refusing to be moved and saying twice, “I just want to say this last sentence." He finally gave in, muttering "you have no shame," and allowed the ushers to escort him down, from where he returned to his seat.

See more wild beasts here.

Torah Scholars on the Front Lines

Here's an interesting article (in Hebrew) about how Rabbi Shabtai Sabato saved Rabbi Chanan Porat during the Yom Kippur War.

גילוי אריות בירושלים

HH #263

Click!!!

Anat Kam Still Not in Jail

Leftist Supreme Court Judge Ayala Procaccia strikes again:

The High Court partially rejected Wednesday an appeal by the State Prosecution against the lenient arrest conditions of accused spy Anat Kam. Judge Ayala Procaccia ruled that Kam will remain under house arrest, but under slightly stricter conditions. She will have to be under supervision of her parents, sister or aunt 24 hours a day, and she will report to the local police station once a week, accompanied by one of her supervisors.

Kam is charged with stealing hundreds of top secret documents from the Central Command Headquarters and transferring them to a journalist from Haaretz. Surprisingly, however, for a case involving such severe charges, she has not been jailed for the duration of the proceedings against her. Instead, she is under house arrest while her trial, which began three months ago, continues behind closed doors.

The Prosecution asked to place Kam under full arrest, as is the norm in cases involving serious charges. Judge Procaccia rejected the request, saying that “it is possible that she should have been placed under arrest [in jail] from the outset. However, in view of the passage of the considerable period of time in which Kam has been under house arrest, and since there is no reason to believe that she violated the conditions of her release, the High Court decided that making the conditions of the house arrest stricter will suffice.”

The court determined that the offenses Kam is charged with are particularly grave because they “could cause real damage to vital state interests, in security and military matters.”

National Union Chairman MK Yaakov Katz (Ketzaleh) reacted angrily to the decision, saying: “They are all members of the same clique: the retired [Judge Dalia] Dorner, Procaccia in the present day and if it were up to them, Kam would be sitting in the Supreme Court too.”

"Kam should have been placed in jail for the duration of the legal process against her,” he added, “but Judge Procaccia has difficulty doing this because in principle, her outlook is similar to that of Anat Kam.”

Ex-Jerusalem Mayor Lupolianski Arrested in 'Holyland' Probe

Let's hope that the allegations against former Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski are not true:

Uri Lupolianski was arrested Wednesday for allegedly receiving over three million shekels in bribes from the entrepreneurs behind the Holyland housing project in Jerusalem. He is also suspected of money laundering. His remand has been extended for five days.

Police think some of the money was paid when he served as chairman of the city's Planning and Construction Committee, and some when he was already mayor. The vast majority of the money did not go into his own pocket but to the Yad Sarah charity, which lends medical equipment to the needy and infirm, and which Lupolianski founded.

Investigators suspect that Lupolianski received 1.4 million shekels for Yad Sarah from the Holyland investors before 1999, and another 1.4 million between 2000 and 2006. In addition, they believe he received $30,000 for use by political activists who worked for him in the municipal elections campaign of 2003, which he won.

In 2005 he allegedly received 100,000 shekels as a contribution to a Torah study school for adults ('kollel') which his son managed.

Meanwhile, there is tense anticipation of the return to Israel of another former Jerusalem Mayor – Ehud Olmert – who was also a Prime Minister. Olmert is expected to arrive in Israel Wednesday night after cutting short his stay abroad in Spain. It is not known whether police intend to arrest him, but he, too, is a suspect in the Holyland affair.

The Rishon LeTzion Magistrates' Court agreed to the police's request Tuesday and extended the remand of Meir Rabin, one of six suspects in the Holyland affair, by ten days. On Wednesday, police asked to extend the remand of five other suspects by nine days.

Moshe Negbi: Anat Kam is Another Ellsberg

This is really funny:

Israel Radio's legal news correspondent, Moshe Negbi, called Tuesday for the government to amend the law, in order to exempt journalists from prosecution on leaking or publishing state secrets. Speaking at a Netanya college, Negbi said that the contention that anyone who possesses or distributes such information is a spy was “ridiculous.”

Negbi compared former IDF soldier Anat Kam, who has admitted to stealing more than 2,000 secret and top secret documents from the IDF, to The New York Times' Daniel Ellsberg, who published the Pentagon Papers, classified documents on America's involvement in the Vietnam War. Ellsberg was tried for espionage. That case was never decided, because the charges against Ellsberg were thrown out of court after it was discovered that the FBI had been illegally wiretapping Ellsberg's conversations with a former State Department employee. Ellsberg, said Negbi, had turned into a “national hero” in the United States.

So what's so funny about this, besides the ridiculous notion that Ellsberg became a national hero? Moshe Negbi was also suspected of abusing his position in the army according to an Arutz 7 News Service report from February 6, 1998:

JUDGE COMPLAINS THAT COMMENTATOR IGNORES THE FACTS

Tel Aviv District Court Justice Amnon Strashnov has submitted a sharp complaint to the Press Council against the prominent left-wing legal affairs commentator Moshe Negbi.

Strashnov says that Negbi, who provides legal commentary for the Israel Television, Voice of Israel Radio, and the Maariv newspaper, systematically ignores the facts in giving his opinions and violates the rules of journalistic etiquette.

Strashnov says that Negbi gives the impression that he barely reads the legal opinions on which he comments.

Two and a half years ago, Arutz-7 was the first to report that Negbi had been discharged from his position as Military Prosecutor in the IDF because he was suspected of having purposely destroying an important legal document.

Yes Mr. Negbi, I'm sure you really identify with Anat's plight!

As an aside, you could say about the entire Anat Kam debacle is a case of "HaGolem 'Kam' Al Yotzro"!

Haveil Havalim — Post-Pesach Edition

You can see it here.

Disgusting

Here.

Dealing With Dog Litter in Jerusalem

The Municipality wants you to clean up after your dog. If you didn't clean up, you dirtied. (It sounds better in Hebrew):



Someone set up an NPO to deal with the problem:



They even have a web site:

WE believe that by changing the environment we can change behavior. This is the application of the principle of "The Broken Window Theory" that radically and quickly improved the quality of life in New York.

To bring about these changes we are focusing on one common problem that everyone wants corrected. We chose dog litter which has polluted our streets, parks and beaches and has reached epidemic proportions. "Stepping in it" evokes such a strong response -
everyone can relate to it even our children.

We believe that dog litter is only a symptom of the problem, not the problem itself. We believe we must correct the underlying root which is a profound lack of respect for others and our land. Lack of respect destroys our environment, damages our public image, effects tourism and businesses and overall impacts our quality of life.

In my neighborhood there are almost no dogs so we really do not have this problem. However, if you go on a stroll in one of the neighborhoods that is known for its...dogs...please check your shoes before you enter my apartment.

Yellow Flowers

Wild flowers grow on a hill near Moshav Gimzu:

Aliyah LaRegel: Some Pics From the Old City

I was in the Old City of Jerusalem yesterday. Some pics, especially for those of you who are for whatever reason stuck in the Diaspora but really do yearn to be here.

The mezzuzah on the Jaffa Gate (Rashi on Deuteronomy 6:9 mentions that the gates of cities are also required to have mezzuzot):



The rebuilt Hurva synagogue. Unfortunately we could not enter as some Israeli parliamentarians were visiting:



Street musicians of all types:




And of course the Na Nach Nachma Nachman MeUman people:



Next year in a rebuilt Jerusalem!