Some excitement happened in Bet Shemesh itself, as a professional hit was averted. Undercover detectives put a stop to a hit after 4 young men in their 20s attached an explosive device to someone's car. Kikar does not say it, but other news sources mentioned that he was a former "well known" football player (ie soccer).
I guess they really hold a grudge for that time he missed the goal...
In other news, that happened outside the city but with a resident of Bet Shemesh, an extremist from RBS B who had been arrested during the violent protests against the closure placed on RBS B a few weeks back because of the CoronaVirus spreading freely, had to be chained to his bed in jail.
Binyamin Friedman has been in jail since the protest on Pesach. During the protest he allegedly attacked a female police officer and spit at her. Friedman denies the allegations.
This past week Friedman was transferred to the Maasiyahu prison and it seems he did not want to go into his new cell because there was a television in it. The police refused to remove the television (saying they cannot do that, there is no such thing) and they also denied his request to be incarcerated in the "torani" wing of the prison.
Friedman threatened to commit suicide if they would lock him up wit the television. As soon as he threatened suicide they chained him down to his bed as a precaution. He says they didn't even let him bring a siddur in, and it is a miracle he had already davened mincha. Big miracle. Then he says his kipa fell off and he couldnt even pick it up because he was chained down. He eventually managed to figure out a way, somehow using his teeth. He says it took him four hours. I don't know how he picked it up, put it back on his head, and tied it to his head using the strap of a corona mask, all with just his teeth, as he says, but I guess when there's a will there's a way.
The Prison Services response is that he threatened suicide and self-harm and did so time and again even after protective measures were taken. Such threats are taken very seriously.
It seems much easier to solve the problem by removing the television form the cell, but maybe making him watch Yuval Hamevulbal and general Israeli tv shows (besides for the good ones) is a much harsher punishment!
Bet Shemesh hasn't been so exciting in a long time!
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That last story is incredible, he should be on Britain's Got Talent with Lioz Shem Tov. Then he'd have a reason to have a TV, he could watch himself!
ReplyDeleteNot sure how it would have been easier to solve the problem by removing the TV.
ReplyDeleteAny parent knows that if a child throws a tantrum, it is not easier to solve the problem by giving into the child's demands, that just teaches the child to throw a tantrum every time they want something. Removing the TV from this guy's cell would have encouraged other inmates to make whatever demands they want.
He has been arrested for a very serious crime - deliberately endangering the life of a police officer, I would hope that an attempted killer would not get pampered at all by the prison system, including by allowing him to move the the Torani block.
Over recent weeks (actually years) there have been many horrific videos of people dressed like religious Jews deliberately endangering themselves and other in violent protest, the prison service should deal with these people as harshly as the law allows.
it seems that in a democratic country prisoners have rights. I happen to think (based on what I have read) they are given too many rights and privileges, but I am not in the position to determine what rights and privileges they deserve and what they do not. I am not sure the television issue should have gotten to the point where he was throwing tantrums. I agree that once he did, they could not really back down, but upon the initial request I dont see why it is such a big deal that he HAS to have a television in his cell. Unless maybe he had a cellmate and removing the tv would be taking it away unfairly from the cellmate.
DeleteNo idea whether there is a "right" to request a cell without a TV, but I wouldn't be surprised if the TV was bolted down to prevent it being damaged, in which case it would have been difficult to remove it, also as you said he probably didn't have a private cell, so removing the TV would also have infringed on the rights of the cellmate.
DeleteIn any case, I think that he should have received whatever he is entitled to by law, but nothing more.