My friend's 14 year old girl is in jail for being Sharon's political opponent

Got this email from my friend Yochi. She asked that it be made as public as possible, so I'm doing my bit. She also sent a link to an online petition.

Dear friends,

I am writing you in connection with my 14 year old daughter Chaya who has spent the past 4 weeks of her summer vacation in jail. No,no, she hasn't murdered anyone. Nor did she steal anything, assault anyone or sell drugs. All she did was go to a demonstration in " the only democracy in the middle east". Here is how it happened.

On 22 Sivan 5765 {29.06.05} Chaya decided to lend moral support to her friends who went to protest Ariel Sharon's plan to expel Jews. What follows is a direct quote from the official indictment filed against Chaya. She is accused of standing on a sidewalk while her friends proceeded to block traffic. After her friends were arrested a policewoman asked Chaya to leave the area. Chaya refused, saying that she wasn't doing anything illegal, that she had every right to stand on "every inch of the Land of Israel". The policewoman, unimpressed, warned Chaya that if she didn't leave immediately she will be arrested. To which Chaya replied:" So, shut up and arrest me then". That's it. This is the case that the State of Israel has against Chaya. And, because Chaya participated in a similar demonstration once before, the State prosecutor asked the juvenile court to remand Chaya into police custody UNTIL THE END OF LEGAL PROCEEDINGS AGAINST HER - a process that can last for MONTHS!! What is truly unbelievable is than this unprecedented request was granted. Judge Dalya Korn wrote a 10 page dissertation about the danger to society inherent in Chaya's disregard towards the law passed in the Knesset (Sharon's expulsion law). That, combined with the fact that Chaya participated in a similar "unlawful" demonstration before, has made her into a REAL PUBLIC DANGER, thus justifying her imprisonment until the end of the legal process.

To understand the severity of the above decision one must know that, as a rule, an average ADULT criminal - be he a thief, rapist, or a drug dealer - is never kept in jail until the end of proceedings. Even if he is a repeat offender, and even if he repeats the same crime while he's awaiting his trial!! The worst they usually get slapped with is a house arrest. And juvenile offenders are treated even more leniently.

The above holds true for all criminals, except for those whose crimes are "IDEOLOGICALLY BASED". And, according to the State prosecutor's words, herein lies Chaya's true danger to the society. you heard it right. What is even more outrageous is that the judge agreed!!

Shocked and outraged at this clearly political ruling we appealed the decision. Our appeal went all the way to the Supreme Court of Israel. Judge Procaccia, who heard the case, upheld the decision. The only leniency and compassion that comrade Procaccia agreed to show Chaya was that she could be released from jail to a house arrest - BUT NOT TO HER PARENTS' HOME. Ignoring the fact that neither of the parents has any family in Israel ( we are both immigrants ), comrade Procaccia declared that Chaya must be sent "far away from this area of volatile emotions if she wants to get out of jail".

The most outrageous part of her decision was her agreement with the prosecution that Chaya represents a "danger to the society because of her ideological motivation". This is coming from a judge who had absolutely no problems releasing not only common criminals, but even terrorists with blood on their hands!! Over the past few months alone Israeli government released hundreds of these beasts, and even though appeals for filed against this release, Procaccia and co. upheld the decision of the government. She never made the removal of these beasts from the " area of volatile emotions" a condition for their release. They were allowed to go back home. Comrade Procaccia is sure THEY won't be dangerous to our society anymore.

Just in case you think that this may have been some kind of a judicial freak mishap - don't. What is happening in Israel right now is a FULL COOPERATION between the justice system and the ruling clique aimed at breaking any minimal resistance to the proposed expulsion of Jews. There is no other way to explain comrade Procaccia's decision to keep Chaya in jail, because the maximum punishment that Chaya faces on these charges, if convicted, would be some monetary fine. And to await this punishment she must stay in jail!!

What is it like for a 14 year old to be in jail? Well, for the first week - including Shabbat - Chaya was kept in solitary confinement. She was not allowed to shower or call home. We could not send her clean clothes. The food she was given was not on the level of kashrut she could eat. For the first two weeks she was not allowed to have a fan in her cell - that's in the stifling, muggy Ramle summer, with temperatures reaching the high 90's. She is bored to tears and immobilized by the heat. Once a week she has to go through the degrading procedure of her cell being searched, with male jailers rummaging through all her personal belongings. She is not allowed out of her cell in the evenings, which means she has to eat her Friday night meal in the darkness of her cell. As of now we are not allowed to bring her any food from the outside, which means she gets almost no fruits or vegetables. We are only permitted to visit her for a half hour every week.This is how this young girl is being forced to spend her summer vacation - and I could go on and on.

If the above shocks you and you want to help Chaya - here's what you can do.

Since the Supreme court issued its ruling, there isn't much that can be done in terms of an appeal. The way to help Chaya now is by raising a public outcry over this political persecution. This process has two parts: 1. political/informational and 2. financial.

1. a.You, or anyone else you know can forward this information to any news media, especially newspapers, in your area. Try to get them interested enough to interview me via telephone or e-mail.
b. Turn to your politicians and demand they publicly condemn this outrage. Let me know if they do, and I will publicize it here in Israel.
c. If you frequent a synagogue, ask the Rabbi to explain the case to the congregants, hold a prayer vigil, ask the Rabbi to write a letter of condemnation over this blatant political abuse.
d. Organize a protest at the Israeli embassy closest to you.
e. Forward this message to as many friends as you can.

2. There are a number of ways to keep the Chaya's plight in public eye here in Israel.
a. Poster pastings all over Israel with Chaya'a picture, demanding her immediate release. It costs about $400 to print 1,000 large color posters and another $150 to paste them up. Initially, I'd like to paste up the areas around Maasiyahu prison where Chaya is held, and around the courthouses where her case is likely to be heard. Every time she is driven to a hearing, she'll see the posters and know there are people who care about her. Depending on the available budget we will paste up along major highways, shopping malls, etc., asking people to write Knesset members and Supreme Court judges to demand Chaya's release.
b. Newspaper ads. I'd like to have ads running in major newspapers, counting days that Chaya is in prison, and asking people to do the actions described above.

I have estimated that I'll need approximately $8,000 to start this campaign and keep it going for the first month. If you, or anyone you know can help to defer a part of this cost please send your donations to:
Moshe Belogorodsky
House # 310
Shilo, Israel 44830

My telephone numbers in Israel are:
home 972-2-994-7673
cell 972-52-444-3929
My e-mail address is ydf@013.net.il
If you want to make your donation tax deductible please send it to:
Am Yisrael Chai Foundation ( please write "freedom for Chaya" in the memo section of the check )
6 Hazel Place
Woodmere N.Y. 11598

Thru the self sacrifice of Chaya and her friends may we merit a speedy Redemption of our People.

In knitting news:
Gotta get them 6Sox done by midnight. Looked at the blog for all my August Stitch Marker Swap people--they're all easy! Yay--love you all!

Stitch Marker Exchange Questions

For the Stitch Marker Swap:

Do you prefer shorter or more dangling type of markers?
Generally dangling markers, but I can certainly use shorter ones as well.

Is there any kind of markers that you would absolutely NOT want to recieve?
Ones for sz 15 and up needles--I've never used that size yet. Markers with overt religious symbols (aside from Jewish).

Colors you like most?
Bright colors, to contrast with the yarns I generally use.

Colors you like least?
Clear. They'll fade into the yarn.

Would you prefer markers for smaller or larger sized needles?
I generally knit on sz 0-9 needles.

Do you want your sender to reveil themselves when there shipped or at a later date?
When shipped or in the mail with the markers, so I can email a thanks.

OTN: Trying to finish the Six Socks pattern before the end of the month. Knit like the wind!

There's an old joke

which is terribly racist. It goes:

Q: "What do you call 10,000 [insert name of a specific ethnic or racial group] at the bottom of the sea?"

A: "A good start."

I think the Israeli media feels that way about right wing Jews. Saturday night a Jerusalem couple, Dov and Rahel Kol,

were murdered on their way back from a family

weekend in Gush Katif. The Haaretz story I've linked to above really only eulogizes the husband, who had left wing

views, while making it clear that Rahel wasn't his "real" wife (i.e., first wife, biological mother of his granddaughter)

and that it was her fault they were there in the first place, since they were visiting her sister. "It is enraging to think

that a man like Dov, a man of peace and tolerance, was murdered like this," the article quotes one of Dov Kol's

friends as saying. I guess it's not enraging to think that his wife, who had the opposite political viewpoint, was

murdered as well.

Haim Yavin must agree with this. On Mabat, the state-sponsored TV network's news broadcast, he
href=http://rotter.net/forum/scoops1/5553.shtml>said that "the wrong man was murdered." I suppose he

thinks there are Jews whom it would be right to murder. After his TV documentary "Land of the Settlers," it wouldn't

be difficult to guess whom he meant.

And in knitting news: plugging away at Mariah. On the foot of my sock pal's socks, but (a) I'm not sure I have enough yarn and (b) I have too few stitches for a pattern repeat. I may have to frog and start again (yet again). It's a good thing I have 6 or so weeks! 6SocksKAL is stall for lack of needles, as is the pink ribbon tank--Wednesday we go to Miami, and with any luck I'll find needles there. West Palm is a needle desert.

Thank you!

Chrissie held a contest on her blog, and somehow, by Divine providence, I won. Look what she sent!


9 balls of Tweedy Lamb wool in a beautiful blue/purple which perfectly matches the wool I spun for The Middle Teen's sweater. I think MT is claiming this for herself; she fell in love with my Clappy on the plane out here and this yarn is calling to be made into one for her.

Susie sent me her felting mistake, which makes a wonderful kippah. Pictures to come, after The SPouse arrives in Florida to model.

And Alison sent me the greatest birthday gift--pictures of that coming up next time, too. (Gotta empty out the new knitting bag so I can show the cute lining.) Hey, Alison, I'm scheduled to be in Atlanta in March 2007. Keep the light on for me, OK?

Israel news: Israel is preparing beds for up to 2300
prisoners, including 900 beds currently serving Palestinian prisoners (three guess where the Palestinians will go to free up their beds.

Kfar Maimon news: Actress Yael Leventhal, who satirizes (or just mocks) settlers with her Nechama ben Yefuneh character, came to Kfar Maimon to film an episode. Some of the anti-expulsionists didn't take kindly to her mocking and reportedly attacked her. (Hebrew only) In an even stupider move, fellow actor David Malnik cursed out soldiers and was briefly arrested the police found out who he was. If real settlers had said the things he had, they'd be in jail until spring thaw. Guess it pays to have the right
political POV.

Best pictures out of Kfar Maimon:

A prayer group, divided courtesy of Uncle Arik.
And from Reuters:


No words.

Should they stay or should they go?

The news out of Kfar Maimon is confusing. Did Moetzet [Chasrat] Yesha give in, and are people leaving? Are they holding fast? Was it all a cover so a thousand protesters could sneak into Gaza? And what on earth is happening with North Samaria? I hope they're holding fast, but a part of me hopes everyone is going home--I have a sneaking suspicion that the girl I asked to feed my cat while I'm away is stuck there, unable or unwilling to leave. Princess can hunt for her food for a day or two (she's an outdoor cat), but tomorrow The Spouse is going to call another neighbor and ask him to feed Cat-face if her regular meal ticket doesn't show up.

Meanwhile, I've been having more fiber fun here than allowed by law. Last night I drove down to Boca Raton with the girls, to join Jody and her knitting group. At first the girls were reluctant to go. "We won't know anyone. They'll just gossip about a lot of people we don't know. No one will talk to us." By the time we left, they were both begging to go again next week. And we will, if my dad loans me the car again.
But that Debbie Bliss bear Maddy was knitting? Man, what a pain! Way too fiddly for me. I'd take the sweater Jody knit and buy a bear sooner than rip my hair out with postage-stamp segments to sew together.
Jody loaned me her phone to speak to Alison, whom I had to thank for the best birthday gift! (Detail about that later this week, along with a meme and other assorted nonsense.) It was great putting a face (Jody) and a voice (Alison) with the names. But my poor girls--all day today they kept asking, "Jody is Alison's daughter, right? No--Alison is Jody's daughter? Are they sisters?" They didn't think Jody looked old enough to have a daughter living on her own. (Considering how many girls in my social circle get married at 18, this is a high compliment indeed.)

And all day long my father kept asking, "So who stitched and who bitched?" to which the girls replied: "We stitched. You bitched." (Hormone shots for cancerous men are not a pretty thing.)

There's nothing like knitting with other people to motivate a gal. I pulled out my Mariah, stalled over there on my sidebar since February.

It looks way bluer than it really is; in real life it's a royal purple. The brown stitch markers are part of a set sent to me by Leah. The third was hijacked by my son for its light refraction or some other physics mumbo-jumbo. Mariah doesn't look like much, but it's three times as large as it has been for the past 4 months.

I also worked on my Sockotta socks. I finally (a few weeks late) finished the first and started the second.

.

And I worked on book thongs to send along with my Stitch Marker Mania packages. Already made were stitch markers.


They were supposed to go out today, but the post office was closed due to a bomb scare. No, I'm not back home again; this was in West Palm. Maybe that's why the PO was still closed three hours after the scare began; at home it would have been open within a half hour.

A quick and appropriate response

Yesterday a suicide bomber blew himself up at a mall in Netanya, killing 4,

and another tried the same thing in
pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1121135419553&p=1078397702269>Shavei Shomron, but failed when his car bomb exploded

prematurely. In a wildly appropriate step, the IDF has
pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1121221097109>closed Gaza and North Samaria to non-resident Jews. Because we all know it's

the 13 year olds like NN who are the real danger to the lives and

safety of the Israeli people, not some holy martyr. After all, even the Ministry of Education is handing out textbooks
hrefhttp://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=85488>dedicated to the brave shaheedim who advance their people's cause so

successfully, a handful of dead Jews at a time.

Thanks IDF! I feel so much safer now! Those crazy ol' Jews can't interfere with you pulling some 83 year old granny out of her home. I think I'll go

to the mall to celebrate! I'll go buy yarn!

And sometimes knitting gets done, too!

Before the Spouse went off to NY, he requested a new kippah with a specific design. The man is finally getting radicalized:

It says Tzfon HaShomron. No Gush Katif for the man, especially since the new orange bracelets have "I heart Gush Katif," leaving our crew out in the cold.

And I got myself a new T-shirt for travelling. I feel like a fake in it, though, since I'm taking my kids away for the summer partially so they won't be tempted to enroll in Camp Maasiyahu (in RL, one of the prisons where Israeli political prisoners are incarcerated).


I also started my Sockapal2za socks. And frogged them. And started them again. And frogged them again. And started them again. The third time had better be the charm.


Fiona is done. Well, sorta kinda. I finished all the knitting, but still have to sew the ties on, sew down the facing, and weave in ends. For that I'm not shlepping it to Florida. If you're bulky wool, you don't deserve a summer vacation. Bye, FiFi. See you in the fall. (Someone remind me!)

Off to Florida with the girls Saturday night. See you Stateside!

Love live sexism!

I'm blogging remotely today. Though I have 3 phone lines in my house, none work. A poll of my neighbors shows that of the 32 units on my block, three have phone service, two have partial service (some lines have dial tones, others do not), 20 have no service, and no one was home in the rest.

First Bezeq, the national phone company, tried to tell each person who called to complain that it was a problem in his or her own home. I argued that I doubted it was--I have two units and there was service in neither. I had also checked with my next door neighbor and she had no service, either. Bezeq told me that, due to where I live, they could only come next Tuesday to check.

If you know me at all, you know that is so not the thing to say to me. Too bad my horrorscope isn't Taurus--I'm always bullish when a red flag is waved in front of me. I went from door to door, checking with neighbors and urging them to complain (mentioning the statistics on phone outages) if they wanted service within the next 6 days.

The women all got the same answer I did. The two men I caught who called--now that did the trick. I just got a call from Bezeq (on my cellphone). There's a general problem in the area and they are working on it. Well, duh. Too bad it took the men calling to get them to listen.

[added ten minutes later]
Argh! There had been a line in my husband's office, so I went down there to work. Bezeq may be trying to fix the lines, but in the meanwhile, they've managed to intermittently cut off service here, too. 4 lines of mine down. Oh, joy. Why don't I have a cell phone modem?

Quite a bit of progress on the knitting front. Pics tomorrow, Bezeq willing.