Wednesday, August 16, 2017

The libel that kills - Nadav Shragai




by Nadav Shragai

This is mainly the defense of democracy against the freedom to incite that is liable to lead to bloodshed and the loss of human life in the future.

Raed Salah, the leader of the Islamic Movement's outlawed Northern Branch, refers to himself as the Al-Aqsa sheikh, sailed on the Gaza blockade-busting Turkish ship Mavi Marmara, and for years has spoken of his vision for a global caliphate with Jerusalem as its capital. He is also the same man who for years has disseminated the false warning that "Al-Aqsa is in danger." 

His latest arrest, one of dozens, presents a legal question: Has this false suggestion that Israel is somehow planning to destroy Al-Aqsa mosque shifted from being an abstract claim to being an actual weapon, considering that it has motivated vehicular rammers, stabbers, shooters and murderers in recent years?

In practice, the answer is clear: This libel does indeed kill. Quite literally. Hundreds of attacks in recent years were motivated by this falsehood.

It is enough to consider the indictments issued against the attackers, as well as their own statements and Facebook pages, to understand that this libel -- rooted in the days of Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Amin al-Husseini -- has gone beyond the point of just venomous propaganda. It has been turned into an actual weapon, the equivalent of a suicide bomber, a Qassam rocket or a gun. Those who repeat this libel over and over are akin to an attacker who pulls the pin of a grenade or starts a timer on a bomb.

The most serious aspect of this problem is that this claim, directed at the Israeli government, is entirely unfounded. In fact, even those who endlessly repeat it don't always believe the things they themselves are saying. 

The only instance when a state commission of inquiry investigated Salah and his libel in depth was after the events of October 2000 (when unrest on the Temple Mount spiraled into the Second Intifada), in which 12 Israeli Arabs were killed. The Or Commission, a state-appointed panel, investigated the events.

We should remember the findings of the committee members, then-Supreme Court Justice Theodore Or, Hashem Khatib and Professor Shimon Shamir:

"It is implausible that Salah in fact believed that the government planned to destroy the mosques and build a temple in their place, as he claimed. There is no escaping the conclusion that his statements on the matter were aimed at gaining political capital, to recruit supporters and hone the struggle. 

"His calls to liberate Al-Aqsa through blood, especially as expressed in the mass festivals of rage he organized, served to escalate the tense atmosphere in the Arab sector on the eve of the October events." 

Since then, Salah has continued to make inflammatory remarks. He has paid for some of these remarks with time in prison, but it is very unlikely that he has changed his ways. 

The attempt to keep him behind bars is a legitimate attempt to protect the public from what amounts to a ticking time bomb. 

This is not an infringement on his freedom of religion nor is it a violation of the tenets of democracy or freedom of speech. This is mainly the defense of democracy against the freedom to incite that is liable to lead to bloodshed and the loss of human life in the future.


Nadav Shragai

Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=19689

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1 comment:

Matt said...

The same libel is also repeated by Mahmoud Abbas and King Abdullah.

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