Hunt for Israelis who killed Eritrean man falsely implicated in bus attack

[muriel_volestrangler]

Israeli police are hunting members of a group of Israelis who killed an Eritrean migrant after mistakenly identifying him as a terrorist involved in an attack at a bus station.

Haftom Zarhum was shot repeatedly by a security guard then kicked and spat at by a mob after going to the southern Israeli city of Beersheba to pick up his renewed work visa. He was walking past the central bus station with a group of friends when an Israeli Bedouin armed with a gun and knife attacked a bus, killing an Israeli soldier and injuring 10 others.

In the panic surrounding the attack, Zarhum was identified as a suspected accomplice, apparently based on his appearance. The Israeli daily newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth was among several media organisations that left no ambiguity as to why it believed he had been shot. Monday’s headline read: “Just because of his skin colour.”

In events that some Israeli media called a lynching, Zarhum was shot and wounded before being shot several more times by a security guard at the bus station as he crawled along the floor. Still alive, he was then surrounded by people who cursed and spat at him, kicked him in the head and tried to hit him with a chair.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/19/hunt-for-israelis-who-killed-eritrean-man-falsely-implicated-in-bus-attack

[geek tragedy]

1. Just like they hunted for the Duma arson terrorists?

Last edited Mon Oct 19, 2015, 06:01 PM - Edit history (1)

Just to be clear, this was murder committed by an out of control, vicious mob.

But, they aren't Arabs so this will just blow over.

[Little Tich]

2. I have a feeling that the murderers will never be found - after all, the victim wasn't Jewish... n/t

[Israeli]

4. Wrong ....

see : http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4713505,00.html

It was all caught on the security cameras and shown on television .....there is a video of it at the link ....(not for the weak of heart) .

The police have already identified most of those that participated .

[Little Tich]

5. Good. A little bit surprising, but good... n/t

[Israeli]

6. Dont hold your breath on any charges being brought ....

against them tho :

Analysis : Israeli Police and Politicians Firing Up Trigger-happy Public

Sunday’s lynching of an Eritrean asylum seeker follows statements by public figures and a failure on the part of police to follow protocol on the use of firearms.

Aeyal Gross Oct 19, 2015

The lynching of Eritrean asylum seeker Habtom Zarhum during the course of Sunday evening’s terror attack in Be’er Sheva is a continuation of what appears to be a policy backed by the government and police, which permits an unacceptable response to the recent wave of terrorist attacks.

An innocent bystander, Zarhum was shot by the central bus station’s security officer after a terrorist shot and killed an Israeli soldier and wounded 11 others. After being shot, Zarhum was subsequently attacked by civilians and a soldier, who kicked him and threw a bench at him.

The incident, which is documented by a video that makes for harsh viewing, did not occur in a vacuum. It came against the backdrop of what appears to be a move by the police, backed by statements by public figures, to ignore the rules of engagement for when firearms can be used.

Zarhum’s case was preceded by the very different incident of Fadi Alon, who was shot to death by police in Jerusalem on October 4 after he was suspected of stabbing and wounding a young Israeli. But anyone who has seen the video of the killing of Alon, a resident of the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Isawiyah, could get the impression that the 19-year-old was shot to death when he apparently no longer posed a threat, without any warning and with the encouragement of people on the street who cursed him and urged the police to shoot him.

In communications with the Justice Ministry division that deals with complaints over police conduct, the Adalah Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel and the Al-Dameer Association for Human Rights have claimed that the killing of Alon was carried out in violation of policies issued by the national Israel Police headquarters, which requires that use of a firearm be a last resort and after a warning. The video of Alon’s killing seemingly supports the organizations’ claim.

In another recent case, this time involving a Nazareth woman who was suspected of planning to carry out a stabbing attack at Afula’s bus station, it also appears that the woman, Asra’a Zidan Tawfik Abed, was shot and wounded by police without justification.

These two cases should set off alarm bells over the illegal use of force by the police. It appears these shootings were not acts that were essential to prevent a stabbing and save lives, but rather, actions that were committed instead of arresting a suspect when they no longer posed a threat.

The harsh curses and encouragement from bystanders urging that Alon be killed are comparable to a lynch atmosphere. And if the case of Alon involved the killing of someone suspecting of carrying out a stabbing attack, in Sunday’s incident, the lynching involved an Eritrean asylum seeker whose only real crime appeared to be the color of his skin and the fact that he happened to be in the vicinity during a terror attack.

It’s difficult to separate these incidents from the impassioned rhetoric of public figures and the police. When a Jerusalem police chief says that anyone “who stabs Jews is liable to be killed,” while ignoring policy on the use of firearms, legitimacy is being conferred to these cases. Similar legitimacy was suggested by comparable statements by Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan and Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid. Those who brandish a knife or screwdriver should be shot to death, Lapid said. The expected result would be injury or death not only to the suspects, but also to innocent bystanders unconnected with the terror attack.

It’s as if the lynching of Zarhum was a continuation of the poor conduct and negative example set by the police in the previous incidents, in which they shot at suspects under circumstances that appeared to be unjustified and illegal. Also puzzling is the decision already taken by the police that the investigation against those involved in Zarhum’s lynching will not be on suspicion of manslaughter or murder. Particularly disturbing is the decision that the police will carry out the investigation with “necessary caution,” so as not to harm citizens’ motivation to take action during terrorist attacks – as if a lynch is an activity that should keep you motivated.

The Be’er Sheva lynching is also an outcome of the negative standard set by politicians who encouraged this type of reaction. It is also an outcome of the silence of Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein, who, despite having been approached by human rights organizations, has yet to make a strong and clear statement condemning the killing of suspects when there is no justification. He is also yet to order an investigation into the incidents.

The lynching is also a continuation of the incitement against asylum seekers, who have been cast by the Israeli government as criminals and individuals who should be imprisoned without trial. One cannot ignore the identities of the suspects – or, in the case of Zarhum, those on whom suspicion was cast ­– against whom those with firearms have been trigger-happy. There is also a disparity between how they have been treated and the treatment Jewish suspects have received in similar circumstances – for example, Yishai Schissel, who stabbed six people (killing one) at last summer’s Gay Pride Parade in Jerusalem.

In the current atmosphere, talk of inappropriate use of force against suspects is not popular. But as we saw in Be’er Sheva on Sunday, the price of public incitement and the silence of the legal authorities is cruel and deadly.


Source: http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.681259

[azurnoir]

7. No surprises there at all

[Little Tich]

8. An independent judiciary is one of the corner-stones of developed democracies. n/t

[shira]

10. And what will you say when charges are brought? n/t

[Little Tich]

11. There is a precedent: Eden Natan Zada

I will assume that the charges and sentences will be similar to what was given to the killers of Eden Natan Zada. It's also interesting to note that the law had to be changed in order for Israel to recognize Jews as terrorists and give compensation to the families of Arab terror victims.

Eden Natan Zada

Source: Wikipedia
(snip)

Eden Natan-Zada (Hebrew: עדן נתן-זדה?, born 9 July 1986, died 4 August 2005) was an Israeli soldier who opened fire in a bus in Shefa-Amr in northern Israel on 4 August 2005, killing four Israeli-Arabs and wounding twelve others. He was restrained, disarmed and cuffed when he tried to reload to prepare for another round of shooting. After he was restrained and handcuffed, he was beaten to death by the crowd, as recorded on video. It has been inferred that the shooting was a personal protest against the Israeli government's disengagement plan, since an orange ribbon was found attached to Natan-Zada's pocket. (Orange was an emblem color of anti-disengagement activism).

Investigation and trial
(snip)

Eventually, on 13 June 2006, five suspects in the lynching were arrested, one who was already serving a prison sentence was brought in for questioning, and a seventh suspect turned himself in after learning he was wanted by police. The police said: "We're responsible for maintaining the law, and you can't take the law into your own hands. Even when it concerns a terrorist who murdered innocent people even though he made a heinous terrorist act". Two suspects were subsequently released. There was general support for their arrest and even left-wing activist Yossi Beilin said: "Israel can't put up with a lynch made on a handcuffed person even if his actions are heinous and unforgivable. It's a combined interest of both Jews and Arabs that Israel won't close its eyes to such behaviour". The Arab Knesset members however demanded their release and called their arrest a crime.

On 7 June 2009, twelve Arab citizens were indicted over the lynching in the Haifa District Court. Seven were charged with attempted murder. In March 2010, Maher Talhami, their defense lawyer, stated that recently discovered aerial footage of the bus, recorded by an Israeli drone before, during and after the attack took place indicates that Israeli defense officials were aware of Natan-Zada's intentions.

In July 2013, the seven defendants charged with attempted murder were acquitted of that charge, but four were convicted of attempted manslaughter and two were convicted of aggravated battery, while one was exonerated entirely.[22][23] The sentencing took place on 28 November 2013. Three were sentenced to two years in prison, while one was sentenced to 20 months, one to 18 months, and one to 11 months.

Victim compensation

After the event, the Israeli Defense Ministry ruled that the four Arab citizens shot dead were not victims of terror because their killer was not part of a terrorist organization, and are thus not entitled to the usual compensation for life lost due to terror attacks. According to Mayan Malkin, a spokeswoman with the Israeli Defense Ministry, an attacker must be a member of the "enemy forces" against Israel to be considered a terrorist under the law. Instead, they received payment "beyond the letter of the law," as a lump-sum payment, as opposed to the lifelong monthly annuity given to the families of terror victims. Representatives of the Arab community in Israel condemned the decision, with Mohammed Barakeh, an Arab member of the Israeli parliament, saying that the "…decision raises a strong scent of racism, which distinguishes between a Jewish terrorist and an Arab terrorist." On 19 July 2006, the Israeli government changed the "Compensation Law for Victims of Hostile Acts" to include anyone victimized by violence stemming from the Israeli-Arab conflict. As a result of this change, the victims and families of Natan-Zada became eligible for terror compensation.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eden_Natan-Zada

Note: My bolding

[Israeli]

12. Not really Little Tich.....

Haftom Zarhum was an innocent bystander .....Eden Natan Zada was a terrorist of the Kahanist variety . You should not compare them .
Although I understand the point you are trying to make .

[Little Tich]

16. Point taken. n/t

[shira]

9. Charges will be brought. The Haaretz article is bullshit. n/t

[Israeli]

13. Sure shira ...sure ....

The lynching and the cover-up

Op-ed: When a senior police commander states that 'whoever stabs Jews is destined to be killed,' he encourages his people and citizens to take the law into their own hands.

Published: 10.21.15, 11:41 / Israel Opinion

On Monday, the police announced that they would try to identify who was involved in the lynching of Habtom Zerhom in Be'er Sheva, but would not investigate them for murder or manslaughter.

Why? The police say that according to the information they have, Zerhom was already dead when he was beaten up (from the shots fired at him earlier), and therefore the police will at most make an effort to clarify that citizens must not take the law into their own hands.

But the terrible snuff videos which documented the event show something entirely different. In any event, there is no way of knowing how Zerhom died and what killed him without an autopsy, if at all. The police have simply found an easy way out, not wanting to deal with this hot potato.

The police and State Prosecutor's Office know that this is at least a case of suspected murder, if not actual murder. Zerhom was lying on the floor, wounded. He posed no risk to anyone. There is no and can be no justification for harming him. Even if he were an Arab, there would be no justification for that. And even if he were the stabber or the shooter, it's would still be murder.

When it comes to covering up murder cases against Arabs, the police stand on stable historic ground. Israel's legal system has done it repeatedly over the years. In 1955, Meir Har-Zion, a Unit 101 fighter, and three of his friends murdered four innocent Bedouins in the Judea Desert in a blind act of revenge for the murder of Har-Zion's sister. Then-Prime Minister Moshe Sharett and Justice Minister Pinchas Rosen demanded that they would be prosecuted, but to no avail. Defense Minister David Ben-Gurion and IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Dayan successfully thwarted this attempt.

In his despair, Sharett wrote in his journal: "I'm dumbfounded by the essence and fate of this people, which is capable of such subtle sensitivity, such deep love of fellow man, a sincere ambition for the fine and noble, and yet produces from the ranks of its finest youth young men who are capable of murdering a human being in a clear mind and cold bloodedness by thrusting knives in the bodies of defenseless young Bedouins. Which of the two souls scampering between the pages of the Bible will defeat its rival?"

Sharett left behind an emotionally moving journal, but the legacy was shaped by others. The perpetrators of the Kafr Qasim massacre in 1956 were put on trial but were pardoned by the president a year later. The murders of prisoners of war from the 1956 Sinai War and 1967 Six-Day War were not investigated. Chief of Staff Rafael Eitan pardoned those who massacred PLO prisoners in Operation Litani in 1978. Other POW murder affairs in the same operation were never investigated. President Chaim Herzog, the father of the silent opposition chairman, pardoned the members of the Jewish Underground from the 1980s.

The lynching in Be'er Sheva was created on the background of an atmosphere of helplessness: The perpetrators come from nowhere, without "terror infrastructures" and without headquarters of handlers which can be bombed and assassinated. There is very little that can be done against them. The unruly behavior leads to declarations by politicians and right-wing commentators that "an Arab with a knife must not leave the scene alive," as if it hasn't been proven repeatedly that this will not convince the next perpetrator.

This is the same perception that former Shin Bet chief Avraham Shalom saw before his eyes when, in 1984, he ordered his subordinates to smash the skulls of the two terrorists who remained alive after they hijacked the bus in Line 300 affair and commandoes stormed it to free the hostages. That affair indeed cast a heavy shadow on the organization and its leaders, but only because of the cover-up attempts - the conspiracy to blame Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, Defense Minister Moshe Arens and Chief Infantry and Paratroopers Officer Yitzhak Mordechai for ordering the killing of the two Palestinians. Attorney General Yitzhak Zamir wanted to investigate the more serious crime - the murder itself, but came up against President Herzog's clemency wall.

The uncensored videos circulating on Facebook and WhatsApp in the past three weeks document many other lynching cases. In one of them, a teenager Palestinian terrorist who just tried to stab someone is seen lying on his face as two people are riding on him and all the other are punching him from all directions with their hands, legs and poles they found in the area. No one will question them either.

When the police's senior command states that "whoever stabs Jews is destined to be killed," and the acting police commissioner justifies the shooting of terrorist Asra Zidan in Afula when it was clear that she no longer posed a danger, they are encouraging their people and the citizens to take the law into their own hands and rephrase the rules.

Ehud Barak referred to Israel as "a villa in the jungle." This metaphor should be changed. The jungle is not just seen from the villa's window. It is within us, its tenants.

Source: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4714059,00.html

[shira]

15. You're sources are wrong, as they are about 90% of the time. n/t

[Israeli]

17. Which " sources " shira ?

The majority of my sources are Israeli ....the majority of yours are American .
The majority of my sources are Israeli secular Left wing ....the majority of yours are American religious Right wing .
I think your sources are wrong about 90% of the time.
Never the twain shall meet ....we are as different as chalk and cheese.

[shira]

18. Your sources don't even speak for the vast majority of Israeli Leftists

The post-Zionists are a tiny minority within the Israeli Left.

What do you make of the majority of Israeli Leftists? Are they centrists in your view? Rightwingers?

[Israeli]

21. Which sources do you think ....

...." speak for the vast majority of Israeli Leftists " shira ?

"The post-Zionists are a tiny minority within the Israeli Left."

And you know this how ?

You did not even know that Shulamit Aloni , the founder of Meretz , was a post zionist until I told you .
http://972mag.com/shulamit-aloni-1928-2014-the-mother-and-the-prophet-of-the-left/86245/

You still sure you would vote Meretz if you could ???.........

" What do you make of the majority of Israeli Leftists? Are they centrists in your view? Rightwingers? "

Who are you referring to ? ....which political party ?

[shira]

26. Certainly not the post-Zio sources you use...

Are you denying the post-Zios are a tiny minority within the Israeli Left?

Be careful when you answer that.

As for Meretz, I'm glad you vote for a Zionist party. I think the world of folks like Amos Oz, David Grossman, and AB Yehoshua. And as we both know, their politics are certainly not your politics.

[Israeli]

29. Which " post-Zio " sources do I use shira ???

" Are you denying the post-Zios are a tiny minority within the Israeli Left? "

Which Israeli Left shira ?

Amos Oz, David Grossman, and AB Yehoshua......all vote as I do .

[oberliner]

20. What are your favorite Israeli secular left wing sources?

Are you talking about Ha'aretz?

[Israeli]

22. oberliner.....

You owe me an answer :

ref : http://www.democraticunderground.com/1134115488#post39

.....before you get to ask me any further questions .

[oberliner]

23. I'm not sure I understand the question you are asking on that thread

But here's my attempt to answer.

If you are asking if I deny Revisionist Zionism based on sources, then the answer is that I do not.

My opinion is that there were early Zionists of all stripes with a range of different beliefs and perspectives which is why they are often broken down into various different categories.

My point of contention with the person to whom I was responding what that they appeared to be getting all their information about Zionism based on sources that were hostile to Zionism.

There were Palestinian nationalists who had a variety of different perspectives as well, but I would not try to draw my own conclusions on the subject exclusively from sources that were hostile to their cause (which is what appeared to be the case with respect to the other poster and the early Zionists).

Is that not a reasonable point?

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

3. Kick.

But wait. Where is he gasbarist crown that wants to pretend that these things don't happen?

You know their rational: "Israelis never kill anybody, but when they do I guess that they had it coming."

[Israeli]

14. Update ....

Autopsy results show that Eritrean who was lynched died from gunshot wounds, not beating
Ran Boker

Published: 10.21.15, 13:19 / Israel News

The police have stated that the results of an autopsy on Habtom Zerhom, who was killed during a terrorist attack at Beer Sheva's central bus station, show that he died as a result of gunshot wounds and not as a result of the beating he received from Israelis on the scene.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4714408,00.html

Case closed .

[oberliner]

19. Police arrest 4 — including two prison workers — in ‘lynching’ of Eritrean

Suspects charged with aggravated assault for allegedly beating Haftom Zarhum, who later died of a gunshot wound

http://www.timesofisrael.com/police-arrest-4-including-two-prison-workers-in-lynching-of-eritrean/

[Israeli]

24. Good ...

but it should not stop there oberliner......its worse than anyone thought .

How is your Hebrew ?

see : http://news.nana10.co.il/Article/?ArticleID=1154457

[oberliner]

25. Can you summarize that article?

Or at least the gist of it?

[Israeli]

27. Why oberliner ?

.....................cant you read it for yourself ????

Sure I can ....if its an english source you need .

New video exposes severity of Eritrean man’s ‘lynching’

Mobile phone footage shows vicious beating of Haftom Zarhum, mistaken for a terrorist, as crowd chants ‘Am Yisrael Chai’BY

RAOUL WOOTLIFF October 23, 2015

Peviously unseen footage of Sunday’s brutal beating of an Eritrean man, mistaken by Israeli security forces for a terrorist during an attack at the Beersheba bus station, aired Thursday on Channel 10.

Haftom Zarhum, 29-year-old Eritrean, died in the hospital after he was shot by security guard, who thought he had just taken part in a terror attack. While writhing on the floor, he was repeatedly beaten by an enraged mob.

Zarhum was shot during an attack on the Central Bus Station in which a 21-year-old Israeli Bedouin stabbed a soldier, then opened fire on a crowd. Omri Levi, 19, was killed and 11 others injured in the attack. Zarhum died later at the hospital; pathologists determined the cause of death was internal bleeding from a gunshot wound, not the repeated blows to the head he subsequently suffered.

The newly released footage of Zarhum’s beating shows a number of people — including two soldiers — repeatedly kicking him in the head as a bus driver tries to protect him.

Haftom Zarhum, 29, died of his wounds on October 19, 2015, a day after he was shot and beaten by a mob that mistook him for an assailant in the terror attack in Beersheba on October 18 in which IDF soldier Omri Levy, 19, was killed. (Courtesy)

At one point one an off-duty soldier runs up to Zarhum and kicks him in the face as he flails in a pool of his own blood. The soldier can then be seen repeatedly stomping on Zarhum’s head. The soldier only stops when a security guard pushes him away.

Some in the crowd can be heard shouting “kill him, kill him” and “die already, son of a bitch.” Toward the end of the clip some start chanting “Am Yisrael Chai,” Hebrew for “The people of Israel live.”

The graphic video was posted on the Channel 10 website.

Four suspects in the beating, including two members of the Israel Prison Service, were arrested by police Wednesday for aggravated assault.

The four were released on bail Thursday and have been banned from making contact with one another.

The head of the Israel Prison Service condemned the alleged actions of its employees, saying that “violence contradicts the values of the organization.”

The IDF said Monday that the military police was taking part in the investigation of the incident.

Some 2,000 people attended a memorial event for Zarhum in Tel Aviv on Wednesday.

Source : http://www.timesofisrael.com/new-video-exposes-severity-of-eritrean-mans-lynching/

[oberliner]

28. Because it's not in English

Thanks for providing that other article.

The whole episode is disgusting and I hope those criminals are appropriately punished for their behavior.

[Israeli]

30. So do I oberliner.....

ref : " I hope those criminals are appropriately punished for their behavior. "

....but ... I will believe it when I see it ....and not before.