OccupyTLV, May 21 -- What appeared last night as a routine, small-scale (~50 participants) peaceful protest turned into one of the most violent incidents in months. Saturday night protest against non-performance of the Attorney General and and his refusal to file indictments against corrupt senior state officers, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara Netanyahu top the list; have been going on for almost half a year. [i]
Police initiated violence against protesters, mostly "normative" older citizens, both men and women. A total of 9 were detained. Two of them needed to be transferred to hospitals for medical care. One of the two -- former manger of PM Netanyahu's official residence, who turned into a whistle-blower.
In addition, police called for investigation of two protesters, apparently for calling the AG - "white-washer".
In parallel, police spokesman distributed to the media false statements, claiming that the protesters illegally appeared in front of the AG residence. In fact, the protest was conducted in a major square, about 800 yards away from the AG residence, with no sight or sound contact with his home. Police spokesperson also claimed that the protesters blocked city streets -- a baseless claim. [ii] However, Israeli media, under tighter grip than ever by Netanyahu, has hardly covered the protests.
Police conduct represents an escalation in efforts to silence protests against corruption of the justice system itself.
This morning, closed doors hearing were conducted, some of the detainees were released on bail exceeding $1,000 each (high sum for most protesters), two remain in the hospital, and two refused to sign bails, and remain in police custody.
A 2009 report by US Ambassador to Tel-Aviv James Cunningham, published by Wikileaks, describes the merger of government and organized crime in Israel - "Israel, a promised land for organized crime?" [iii]
Following is part of the routine Facebook Saturday night event announcement: [iv]
As usual we meet at 19:00 near Cafe' Roladin at Ganim mall, Petah-Tikvah.
The protest against Attorney General Avichai in Petah-Tikvah must go on!
The protest against government corruption condemns any violence or vandalism!
Attorney General Mandelblit is engaging in misprision of felonies in all branches of government -- starting with Benjamin and Sarah Netanyahu, through members of Knesset, judges, senior prosecutorial and police personnel.
For example:
* Menashe Arbiv -- "Head of the Israeli FBI" -- was caught taking bribes. First they tried to forget about it. Now, following protest, they conduct a sham trial.
* Former Judge Yitzhak Cohen, Presiding Judge of the Nazareth District Court and candidate for Supreme Court Justice, was caught in sex crimes. The court in collusion with the State Prosecution conducted a sham trial on him.
* New evidence shows again the tight relationship between Ruth David, then Tel-Aviv District Attorney, Attorney Ronel Fisher, and top organized crime figure (Amir Mulner). Previous evidence indicated relationships between Ruth David, Ronel Fisher and the Abergil crime family. It is obvious that there is no intention to investigate or prosecute Ruth David for her conduct in her capacity as Tel-Aviv District Attorney.
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