Ami Popper is a convicted murderer. Popper was convicted of stealing an assault rifle and murdering 7 Arabs.

Somehow he has bene adopted by the Right, by the Religious, and even by the Haredi communities. Whenever there has been a prisoner release of Palestinians, the calls have gone out calling for Popper's release.

I have no problem with calling for his release. Part of the prison system includes parole and early release and pardons and commuting sentences. If this or that group or political party wants to put forth efforts to work for Popper's release, that is their prerogative.

What is interesting is something I saw in Mishpacha newspaper over Shabbos. They ran an article detailing the various candidates for the upcoming elections for the position of President of the State of Israel. They mentioned all the candidates and the haredi politicians positions regarding them.

They then also ran a small article in which they said that while the haredi community does not really have much direct interest in the position of the president or regarding who holds that position, as it doesn't really affect the haredi community, there is no reason why the haredi community should not demand of the president things that affect it, such as the pardoning of Ami Popper.

What was interesting is that Mishpacha did not just say "Ami Popper". They called him "Reb Ami Popper".

I am not quite sure how connected Popper is to the Haredi community, though it seems that in jail he became more torani (and was even cellmates with Shlomo Benizri)), and from his more recent pictures (at least from the last few years) he looks more Haredi with a black kippa, white shirt and long beard, If they want to adopt him and call for his release, that is fine by me... but does he really need the honorific of "reb"?

I already don't like that every person who gets married wearing a black hat and grows a beard is called "HoRav" or "Rav".. I find it to be a slight to real rabbonim. But if they want to call people rav or reb or horav, no harm no foul (or not much, at least)... but to call a convicted murdered with the honorific? What's wrong with just calling him by his name? Why does he need the title?

Perhaps one can debate regarding the people who went into jail already bearing the title - do they still deserve top be called by the honorific they earned prior to incarceration or not.. but somebody who is not deserving of the title even regardless of the crime he committed, why append the title to his name?

Does the title really engender such a small amount of respect that it can be given to anybody, even convicted murderers?

The following is a guest post by a frequent reader and commenter, whatsinaname.

The topic is Ami Popper. In case you are not familiar with the case, Ami Popper in 1990 killed 7 Palestinian Arabs. He was sentenced to life in prison and that was later reduced to 40 years based on his good behavior. Ami Popper was recently on a type of weekend furlough and went to Eilat for a weekend vacation with his family. He was involved in a car accident and his wife and two of his children were killed. I have heard some conspiracy theories about what happened, but nothing good enough, or interesting enough to post.

Whatsinaname knows the family from Har Nof and had the following thoughts he wished to share with the rest of us. Enjoy. Any changes I made were only for editing grammar.
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My thoughts about Ami Popper

The following is a mixture of my own thoughts and various facts that I have learned and picked up. I hope it is all true, and I think it is. If any of it is not, I hope someone will correct me.

In the year 1990 a chiloni man by the name of Ami Popper went and brutally murdered about seven arab men who were waiting on the side of the highway. When asked why he did this, he gave two answers. His second answer was that as a child he was raped by one of the arabs. He was immediately given a life sentence, and sent to jail.

In jail he was what is commonly termed “well behaved” thereby earning him good treatment during his term. At some point he was sent to the prison used by religious inmates and slowly began to change himself. Within the course of only a few years he went from a convicted chiloni prisoner to a well behaved religious prisoner. He studied under some rabbaim, one of which was very close to Rav Chaim Kanievsky, shlita.

Around his third year of his term, a woman, who’s family were signed members of the K”CH movement, meant with Ami Popper. Their relationship blossomed and soon they considered marriage - him behind bars, she giving him a second chance at life. With the blessing of Rav Chaim himself, the two wed and began a somewhat unusual family life. Due to his continuing good behavior, he built the trust of the justice system, and his sentence was lowered to 40 years and was soon allowed to visit his family outside the prison for hours, sometimes days at a time. Soon enough their first child was born, a boy, and Rav Chaim came to the prison to be sandak for the new baby.

But life was not so sweet for Sara Popper. She raised the three boys herself, and it was not an easy feat. The boys were very active children, and she herself had a lot of trouble with the life she laid out. I once saw her in har nof; she was terrified because some men were yelling at her and calling her names. I’ve heard her sons quoted as saying how difficult a time they had at school because of their father and his situation. Nevertheless, he continued to come home, she did her best and the family blossomed into 3 children and Sara and Ami doing all they could to keep it together.

I met Sara 2 or 3 times, each time the stress was visible in her eyes and her situation was clearly not a peaceful one. However, I also saw something else in her. A strength and kindness rooted deep behind the defense shields she always had to fight to keep up. Before his last release from prison, Sara made an order from the local butcher for meat for shabbos on Wednesday, but looking forward even more to a much needed vacation with her whole family the following day. She did not make it back the next morning.

I’ve heard a lot of questions about whether she was buckled, whether the children were, why was he driving if his license was expired? These questions don’t really matter though, because when Hakadosh Baruch Hu is ready to take his children home, He brings them, regardless of who is driving the car.

I’ve heard chilonim at work talk about the irony of the situation. Ami killing arabs and then killing his own wife and child. It is a fearsome analogy to make, much less to say it in the kitchen of an office next to the water cooler.

However, the more I think about this horrible tragedy the more one question kept arising in my head. Why would a young woman with her whole life ahead of her, want to marry someone locked in jail?

I think that the answer is the fact that we all get a second chance. Ami was a young kid, and he made a mistake (I don’t know if he admits to that or not). But somehow I have a gut feeling that had he been frum when he was younger, I doubt he would have done the same thing. Sara Popper gave this man a second chance to live another life. Albeit not the paradise we all dream of, but the opportunity to raise a family teaching Torah values.

Oh yes, I can hear some of you crying, what kind of values comes from a murderer? But I know what kind of values. The kind of values that teach your children not to make your mistakes. If we never learn from our sins, how can we grow? Sara Popper, in my eyes, did an incredible chesed that I can only dream about. She sacrificed her own life to give a chance to someone else.

Sadly there are only two boys left, but they are now going to a wonderful family. One, from what I hear is one the most giving and Ahavas Chesed families in Har nof. Fitting isn’t it? At the funeral I was told that Sara’s brother spoke of the great hardships she had in her life and noted that she is in a better place now. I have no doubt, and I pray that she has paved enough of the path that her children and others can learn that there is always an opportunity for a second chance, to anyone.