ISRAEL

PARK I WEST

G-A.L-L.E.R.Y

Should Israel
Permit Torture?

HOLIDAY
SALE

NECHEMIA MEYERS

Special to The Jewish News

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DURING THIS SALE THE PRICES

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29469 Northwestern Highway • Southfield, Michigan • (313) 354-2343

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CUSTOM MIRRORS BY
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• Etched glass

• Shower

• Custom Railings enclosures
Mirrored
• Glass furniture • Walls & Doors

HOLIDAY SALE
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1042 Benstein Road / Suite 107 / Walled Lake

66

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1991

855-5887

errorism has taken a
surprisingly small toll
of Israeli lives.
This is not because Arab
terrorists lack a desire to kill
Jews, but primarily because
they are thwarted by the
Shin Bet, Israel's Security
Services. Nevertheless, the
Shin Bet is under fire follow-
ing reports by Amnesty
International and by
Betzelem, an Israeli human
rights organization, about
the alleged use of torture by
Shin Bet investigators.
A particularly sharp
exchange on the issue has
taken place on the pages of
Ha'aretz, the respected Tel
Aviv daily, between left-
wing intellectual Nissim
Kalderon and veteran jour-
nalist Dan Margalit.
Mr. Kalderon asserts that
Israel's use of torture
shames the country and will
continue to do so for genera-
tions to come. He has par-
ticularly harsh things to say,
in this context, about former
Supreme Court Justice
Moshe Landau, who headed
an inquiry committee on
Shin Bet methods several
years ago. In the public por-
tion of his report, Judge
Landau accepted the need
for the use of "moderate
physical force" by Shin Bet
investigators in especially
grave circumstances.
It is true, Mr. Kalderon
admits, that many
enlightened Western coun-
tries have resorted to torture
from time to time, yet, he
adds scornfully, "it never oc-
curred to them to find a
judge who would formulate
rules for its use."
Mr. Margalit, for his part,
warns against tying the
hands of the Shin Bet.
Should that happen, he
declares, "Arab terrorists
would run wild and blood
would flow all over Israel."
Then, Mr. Margalit goes on,
"the Israeli public would not
only favor the expulsion of
Arabs, as advocated by Min-
ister Rehavam Ze'evi, but
would also support Jewish
terrorists when they spread
death and destruction in
Arab villages."
While Israel continues to
live in peril, "it would be
suicidal," Mr. Margalit
declares, "to accept (Mr.)

Mr. Meyers is a journalist bas-
ed in Rehovot, Israel.

Kalderon's view that
`human rights must take
precedence over countries
and regimes.' "
Also answering Mr.
Kalderon was Shlomo Gazit,
former Chief of Army Intel-
ligence, whom the left-wing
intellectual had criticized for
stating that the Betzelem
report was "a waste of
time."
He had used that phrase,
Mr. Gazit explains, not be-
cause he thinks the issue of
torture is unimportant, but
because "mistreatment of
Arabs by Israelis is bound to
occur so long as Israel con-
tinues to rule over a large
Arab population."
Until this problem is
resolved, Mr. Gazit believes
that Shin Bet investigators

Judge Landau
accepted the need
for the use of
"moderate physical
force" by Shin Bet
investigators.

must be allowed to use
"moderate physical force" in
order to keep terrorism in
check and ensure that Israel
can negotiate with the Arabs
from a position of strength.
While agreeing with Mr.
Kalderon's assertion that
future generations are likely
to be ashamed of their
forefathers when they read
the Betzelem and Amnesty
reports, Mr. Gazit says "it is
better that they read such
reports instead of reading
about the destruction of the
Third Temple."
Not only have Amnesty
International and Betzelem
dealt with the question of
Shin Bet behavior, but so
has the Israeli judiciary,
most recently when the
Supreme Court decided that
two members of the Secret
Services must go to jail for
causing the death of Kamal
Sheikh in the course of his
interrogation.
The majority opinion was
written by Justice Aharon
Barak, who has frequently
argued that there can be no
national security without
respect for the law. In this
instance, Judge Barak said
that the investigators had
violated the human rights of
Kamal Sheikh, caused his
death, and harmed both the
image of the Shin Bet and
Israel's image as a state
governed by the rule of law. El