Judge: Police officers lied while testifying against left-wing activists
By Nir Hasson, Haaretz October 3, 2006
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/769956.html
Tel Aviv Magistrate`s Court revealed Tuesday that police officers lied while testifying against 11 left-wing activists accused of violent acts during anti-fence demonstrations in the West Bank village of Bil'in. The court acquitted the activists. The presiding judge viewed video footage filmed by both police officers and members of the group 'Anarchists Against the Fence' that did not reflect evidence of violent acts. Judge Muki Landman harshly criticized the police's behavior in his ruling.
'A feeling of serious discomfort has arisen from the mighty gap between the officers' testimony and what is seen in the video tapes,' Landman wrote. 'I cannot rule out the possibility that had it not been for the videotapes, I would have reached a different result regarding the defendants.'
The 11 activists were indicted following a demonstration in February 2004, on the day the International Court of Justice in The Hague began deliberations on the West Bank separation fence. The activists sought to protest against the fence in the West Bank but later moved their demonstration to a location opposite the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv. The activists sat on the road, causing severe traffic jams. The prosecution filed serious charges against the activists that included charges of violent unruliness and of interfering with police officers. An additional indictment of attacking a police officer was erased from the charge sheet before a verdict was issued.
Landman rejected the majority of the prosecution`s claims but also rejected claims made by the activists that police officers acted violently when breaking up the protest. Landman also rejected the defendants' claims that their behavior was protected by international law as a legitimate means of opposing the occupation and the separation fence.
The judge convicted nine of the 11 activists on a minor charge of illegal congregation. Two others were convicted of vandalism after spray painting graffiti on the walls of the Kirya defense compound in central Tel Aviv. Sentencing is scheduled for February 2007.
(A.K.)
Saturday, October 07, 2006
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
People power against Agrippas bus plan?
95% of Hot's News viewers against the Agrippas bus plan
Last night, the Hot news programme started with a report about plans to put three bus routes both ways through Rehov Agrippas, the narrow but main road on the south side of the Mahane Yehuda market. In 2002, shortly after we came to the neighborhood, there was talk of a plan to run three or four infrequent bus routes west down Rehov Agrippas. But about six months ago, suddenly this became 800 buses a day, running both ways. And the buses are, we are told, in response to a survey carried out by Egged, the bus company, which showed that the residents of certain neighbourhoods refuse to change on to the light railway which will run through the centre of town (Jaffa Road) and insist on "door-to-door" service to the market. How democratic of Egged...
Gradually even our local community centre's management has come to understand that they have been stabbed in the back by the JTMT, the Jerusalem Transportation Master Plan ("Tochnit Av"). As their person responsible for "public relations" told me back in May, although they are informing all the different neighbourhoods about the plan, this is a one-way communications exercise. The fact that a plan dated 2003 has been found on the Internet showing a totally different scenario is cited as proof that "you knew about the plan all along". But nobody changed the information which was given not just to the residents, but also to the management.
Watch this space for further developments...
Last night, the Hot news programme started with a report about plans to put three bus routes both ways through Rehov Agrippas, the narrow but main road on the south side of the Mahane Yehuda market. In 2002, shortly after we came to the neighborhood, there was talk of a plan to run three or four infrequent bus routes west down Rehov Agrippas. But about six months ago, suddenly this became 800 buses a day, running both ways. And the buses are, we are told, in response to a survey carried out by Egged, the bus company, which showed that the residents of certain neighbourhoods refuse to change on to the light railway which will run through the centre of town (Jaffa Road) and insist on "door-to-door" service to the market. How democratic of Egged...
Gradually even our local community centre's management has come to understand that they have been stabbed in the back by the JTMT, the Jerusalem Transportation Master Plan ("Tochnit Av"). As their person responsible for "public relations" told me back in May, although they are informing all the different neighbourhoods about the plan, this is a one-way communications exercise. The fact that a plan dated 2003 has been found on the Internet showing a totally different scenario is cited as proof that "you knew about the plan all along". But nobody changed the information which was given not just to the residents, but also to the management.
Watch this space for further developments...
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
The City That Isn't (and isn't Chelm...)
Sweeping the Halls
Peggy Cidor, Jerusalem Post, October 3, 2006
Mayor Uri Lupolianski probably does not plan his schedule according to the Gregorian calendar. Yet this week seemed to be a typical "end-of-the-year-clean-the-desks" type of week.
First, the Finance Committee presented the 2006 budget, balanced for the first time in years, and then the final city council meeting for the year 2005 approved it.
The balanced and approved budget may have provided temporary relief to our mayor, since the last few weeks have been really tough.
The newest round of difficulties started three weeks ago with the municipal "buzz" over the mayor's problematic decision to override his general manager, Eitan Meir, in order to undo the tangle between the workers' committee and the municipality.
Zion Dahan, head of the workers' committee, had two meetings with the Mayor - and Meir wasn't present at the first of them. After the second meeting, Dahan finally achieved what he's been trying to achieve for over a year, despite Meir's opposition. In a somewhat irregular decision, the mayor agreed to transfer large sections of the social affairs department's budget to Dahan's protege, Shemi Amsallem, thus making Amsallem head of one of the largest and best-budgeted departments in the municipality.
As usual, Lupolianski meant well. But Meir took Lupolianski's decision as an expression of a lack of confidence in him. The city council opposition angrily denounced the "improper procedure."
And then the municipality's legal advisor declared the decision illegal and void.
Dahan went to court to uphold the decision. He lost - so the mayor did, too. And even the municipal spokesman was criticized for issuing a rather impolite spokesman's reaction.
Meir, often known for his own maneuvers and machinations, has come out of the incident as the "righteous man whose work is done by others."
And Lupolianski? He's still hoping that the issue will be resolved - somehow.
Next, the mayor had to contend with the resignations of Municipal Engineer Uri Shetrit and Micha Bin Nun, head of supervision and enforcement in the engineering department.
Bin-Nun, by the way, has, for the moment at least, decided to stay. But he has made it clear that he has yet to have the last word. And sources in Kikar Safra are already predicting that at least two other high-ranking officials might be announcing their resignation soon.
And Lupolianski? Dreaming that things will improve.
They haven't. Next, our mayor was summoned, earlier this week, to a police investigation.
True, we're talking about the "green" - environmental - police. Lupolianski has been questioned regarding his violation of the Environment Ministry's orders to clean up several different spots in the city, including the huge amounts of garbage that have accumulated at the Giv'at Sha'ul cemetery and the wadi (valley) beneath Ein Kerem.
The Ministry claims to have issued the mayor five orders, as required by law. The orders specifically instructed the Mayor to clean up the act within 30 days.
He hasn't.
According to Shonny Goldberger, head of the Jerusalem district of the Environment Ministry, ignoring an order of this sort could land the mayor in jail for up to one year or cost him a fine of NIS 150,000.
Earlier this year, Lupolianski had to pay NIS 30,000 to the city council opposition after the district court found him guilty of improperly using municipal buildings for haredi schools.
"Corridors of Power" hopes that this time he won't have to spare his family budget and choose prison.
And the troubles keep on coming.
Lupolianski has also had to deal with the annual comptroller's report regarding complaints registered by the public. The comptroller isn't pleased. According to her findings, more than one-third of the complaints were justified.
Head of the Comptroller's Committee, Pepe Allalu (Meretz), says that this is nearly double the proportion of justified complaints filed in last year's report.
"So what's happened to the municipality's slogans about ‘just give service’?" opposition councilman Nir Barkat (Jerusalem Will Succeed) asked cynically.
Maybe they should look for a new copywriter?
Finally, lest our readers suspect that this column is biased against the Mayor, we bring you a story from the offices of Municipal Director Eitan Meir. It is a tale which, we believe, will help to illustrate why so many citizens of Jerusalem feel that they are paying taxes to the municipality of Chelm.
In a spurt of effort to save public monies, Meir decided, among other, similar decisions, to change the company responsible for provision of computer services to the municipality, thus ostensibly saving about NIS three million a year.
A good idea. But not surprisingly, the people from the original company weren't happy about being sent home and losing their lucrative contract. In an attempt to reverse the decision, they went on strike and disrupted the municipality's computerized services, including even the email.
They put up a good fight, which went on for nearly four months, with various ups and downs.
They lost. The new company has been in since the beginning of the week.
But, as we all know, he who laughs last...
In the midst of the computer-turmoil, despite the on-going strikes and sanctions, Meir decided that the time was ripe to connect Jerusalem's 26 public libraries to the central system, so that subscribers would have access to the book lists from their personal computers.
It's a Brave New Hi-Tech World, but the timing wasn't great.
Not surprisingly, the employees of the old company made sure that the brave citizens of new-world Jerusalem were not going to enjoy this new service.
They dismantled the entire system - not just the link from home, but the entire system. Now even if you come all the way from home to the library, you couldn't check out or return a book.
The Baka library, for example, serves 1,600 subscribers, and they were furious. Even in Chelm, they probably noted, the general director might have waited for better timing.
But that's Chelm. This is Jerusalem - a totally different place.
As of earlier this week, since the new company has taken over, the entire computer system has been resurrected, the municipal email works, and the libraries are free to serve the public. Soon, the municipality promises, all 26 libraries will be connected to central system.
But while we're discussing the Baka library - this might be a perfect opportunity for the new computer company to prove its prowess. The phone number listed on the municipal website for the Baka library has been wrong for months. Until now, they couldn't change it - because of the computers, of course.
Peggy Cidor, Jerusalem Post, October 3, 2006
Mayor Uri Lupolianski probably does not plan his schedule according to the Gregorian calendar. Yet this week seemed to be a typical "end-of-the-year-clean-the-desks" type of week.
First, the Finance Committee presented the 2006 budget, balanced for the first time in years, and then the final city council meeting for the year 2005 approved it.
The balanced and approved budget may have provided temporary relief to our mayor, since the last few weeks have been really tough.
The newest round of difficulties started three weeks ago with the municipal "buzz" over the mayor's problematic decision to override his general manager, Eitan Meir, in order to undo the tangle between the workers' committee and the municipality.
Zion Dahan, head of the workers' committee, had two meetings with the Mayor - and Meir wasn't present at the first of them. After the second meeting, Dahan finally achieved what he's been trying to achieve for over a year, despite Meir's opposition. In a somewhat irregular decision, the mayor agreed to transfer large sections of the social affairs department's budget to Dahan's protege, Shemi Amsallem, thus making Amsallem head of one of the largest and best-budgeted departments in the municipality.
As usual, Lupolianski meant well. But Meir took Lupolianski's decision as an expression of a lack of confidence in him. The city council opposition angrily denounced the "improper procedure."
And then the municipality's legal advisor declared the decision illegal and void.
Dahan went to court to uphold the decision. He lost - so the mayor did, too. And even the municipal spokesman was criticized for issuing a rather impolite spokesman's reaction.
Meir, often known for his own maneuvers and machinations, has come out of the incident as the "righteous man whose work is done by others."
And Lupolianski? He's still hoping that the issue will be resolved - somehow.
Next, the mayor had to contend with the resignations of Municipal Engineer Uri Shetrit and Micha Bin Nun, head of supervision and enforcement in the engineering department.
Bin-Nun, by the way, has, for the moment at least, decided to stay. But he has made it clear that he has yet to have the last word. And sources in Kikar Safra are already predicting that at least two other high-ranking officials might be announcing their resignation soon.
And Lupolianski? Dreaming that things will improve.
They haven't. Next, our mayor was summoned, earlier this week, to a police investigation.
True, we're talking about the "green" - environmental - police. Lupolianski has been questioned regarding his violation of the Environment Ministry's orders to clean up several different spots in the city, including the huge amounts of garbage that have accumulated at the Giv'at Sha'ul cemetery and the wadi (valley) beneath Ein Kerem.
The Ministry claims to have issued the mayor five orders, as required by law. The orders specifically instructed the Mayor to clean up the act within 30 days.
He hasn't.
According to Shonny Goldberger, head of the Jerusalem district of the Environment Ministry, ignoring an order of this sort could land the mayor in jail for up to one year or cost him a fine of NIS 150,000.
Earlier this year, Lupolianski had to pay NIS 30,000 to the city council opposition after the district court found him guilty of improperly using municipal buildings for haredi schools.
"Corridors of Power" hopes that this time he won't have to spare his family budget and choose prison.
And the troubles keep on coming.
Lupolianski has also had to deal with the annual comptroller's report regarding complaints registered by the public. The comptroller isn't pleased. According to her findings, more than one-third of the complaints were justified.
Head of the Comptroller's Committee, Pepe Allalu (Meretz), says that this is nearly double the proportion of justified complaints filed in last year's report.
"So what's happened to the municipality's slogans about ‘just give service’?" opposition councilman Nir Barkat (Jerusalem Will Succeed) asked cynically.
Maybe they should look for a new copywriter?
Finally, lest our readers suspect that this column is biased against the Mayor, we bring you a story from the offices of Municipal Director Eitan Meir. It is a tale which, we believe, will help to illustrate why so many citizens of Jerusalem feel that they are paying taxes to the municipality of Chelm.
In a spurt of effort to save public monies, Meir decided, among other, similar decisions, to change the company responsible for provision of computer services to the municipality, thus ostensibly saving about NIS three million a year.
A good idea. But not surprisingly, the people from the original company weren't happy about being sent home and losing their lucrative contract. In an attempt to reverse the decision, they went on strike and disrupted the municipality's computerized services, including even the email.
They put up a good fight, which went on for nearly four months, with various ups and downs.
They lost. The new company has been in since the beginning of the week.
But, as we all know, he who laughs last...
In the midst of the computer-turmoil, despite the on-going strikes and sanctions, Meir decided that the time was ripe to connect Jerusalem's 26 public libraries to the central system, so that subscribers would have access to the book lists from their personal computers.
It's a Brave New Hi-Tech World, but the timing wasn't great.
Not surprisingly, the employees of the old company made sure that the brave citizens of new-world Jerusalem were not going to enjoy this new service.
They dismantled the entire system - not just the link from home, but the entire system. Now even if you come all the way from home to the library, you couldn't check out or return a book.
The Baka library, for example, serves 1,600 subscribers, and they were furious. Even in Chelm, they probably noted, the general director might have waited for better timing.
But that's Chelm. This is Jerusalem - a totally different place.
As of earlier this week, since the new company has taken over, the entire computer system has been resurrected, the municipal email works, and the libraries are free to serve the public. Soon, the municipality promises, all 26 libraries will be connected to central system.
But while we're discussing the Baka library - this might be a perfect opportunity for the new computer company to prove its prowess. The phone number listed on the municipal website for the Baka library has been wrong for months. Until now, they couldn't change it - because of the computers, of course.
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