Supporters of the Duma attack suspects
Photo: Tal Shahar
The monsters in our midst
Op-ed: The Jewish rioters who jeered at Hussein Dawabsheh, 'Where is Ali? Dead, burned! On the grill!' must be prosecuted and made to pay compensation. Hit them where it hurts, in their pockets. Silence from the prosecution would be interpreted as acceptance and encouragement of those who try it next.
"Where is Ali? Burned! No more Ali! Dead, burned! On the grill, on fire!" these are the jubilant jeers that welcomed Hussein Dawabsheh this week
as he was heading into the Lod District Court. His grandson, 18-months-old Ali, was burned to death in the terror attack in Duma.
His two parents, Riham and Saad, also lost their lives in that arson attack, while Ali's brother Ahmed, then four years old, was seriously wounded.
"Dead, burned! On the grill, on fire!" brayed several rioters who came to support the terrorists accused of the murder.
Police were right in front of them. From conversations I had with those who were on the scene, the lawmen simply stood there frozen. Didn't even bother uttering a single word. Later, the Israel Police excused this failure with the words: "There was no violent rioting." Are you kidding me?
Supporters of the Duma attack suspects (Photo: Tal Shahar)
I suggest we stop yammering about "the need to educate the youth," blah, blah, blah, before going about our daily lives. No "education" is going to help the monsters within our ranks. Only a firm hand.
Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit shouldn't hesitate. The head of the prosecution in the State of Israel must prosecute all of those involved in this pogrom. It's a clear criminal offense.
"He who treats the dead with lack of respect intends to hurt the feelings of his fellow man" - This is exactly the case, the most evil and criminal side of it - a menacing carnival of hatred and gloating, over a horrifying act of terror that annihilated a family and burned a toddler alive, in front of the grieving grandfather. This is the case.
Hussein Dawabsheh (Photo: Tal Shahar)
Go on, Mr. Mandelblit: Prosecute them. Now. The silence of the prosecution would be interpreted as acceptance and encouragement of those who try it next.
Alongside a conviction, the law also allows for damages to be ruled to the victim of the offense, the poor grandfather Hussein. The sum may not be very high - only up to NIS 258,000 - but that's something too. Hit the little monster where it hurts, in his pocket, because this is the only way he'll be deterred. A quarter of a million shekels. So either he or his dear parents realize how precious their jewel really is.
It would also be nice if the community of the supporters of the monsters comes together for the traditional fundraising campaign. An entire community will raise money to sanctify the right of a monster to spit in the face of a grandfather: Your grandson was burned. Ali is on the grill. Go for it!
Hussein Dawabsheh with his grandson Ahmed, the only one to survive the attack (Photo: Shaul Golan)
And after the criminal damages, they can be sued for civil compensation as well. Any Israeli judge with a conscience, the conscience of the entire Israeli public, will certainly rule on a significant sum, the kind that would allow Hussein to erect a worthy tombstone for his loved ones. Even a small house. Maybe he could also say: "This is our answer to terrorism. They burn, and we're building."
Mandelblit must do this for the sake of the institution he heads. These are the wild thorns - more like a blossoming flowerbed of poisonous plants - who sprouted following the rabbis' letter that "ruled" it is forbidden to rent or sell apartments to Arabs - turning them into second-class citizens, subhumans, nothings, garbage.
Mandelblit, do you remember who avoided prosecuting them? That's right, your office. So if the Arabs are garbage - garbage must be burned. "In blood and fire we'll banish Rabin" - and those who succeeded in banishing Rabin with fire will go on to implementing the same method on Mohammed Abu Khdeir, and from there to the bilingual school in Jerusalem – Yitzhak Gabai, who was convicted of the arson of that institution, also had a hearing at to the Lod court this week - and from there to La Familia's jeers of "May your village burn" and onwards to the village of Duma.
"Ali is burned, on the grill" is a sort of a Jewish reclaiming of the furnace. We keep being told that we "must not compare the two." But it's them, the monsters within our ranks, who forcefully drag us into the abyss of the past. "When Jewish blood spurts from the knife, things go twice as fine."
