I smell a skunk.....
The plea bargain forced upon minor E. Odess is a form of forced confession and should not be considered any different from the other confessions he made as a 15 year old child during weeks of relentless torture.
If the plea bargain confession in any way falsely incriminates E. and others, such as Amiram ben Uliel, this does not serve justice.. . neither for E., nor for the Arab Duma arson victims.
The family knows their son is innocent. They only signed the plea bargain in the hopes of relief from the unrelenting mental and physical anguish to which they are subjected. They want to be free of the relentless scrutiny of every move they make.
Furthermore, it is even questionable whether the Government of Israel will keep their end of the plea bargain. The system's focus is concern about protecting themselves and saving face. Too much freedom for E. means he might possibly conduct media interviews such as were conducted with Ahed Temimi following her release. Surely the government won't risk the embarrassment of the truth being revealed.
Elisha has been in prison for over 3 years, tortured emotionally and physically for a crime he never committed. .
No one can blame him or his family for this plea bargain.
No one blames him for confessing to an arson he never committed. It sure beats suicide which he apparently attempted as a child following torture and interrogation and a judge who fell asleep when Elisha showed him his slit wrists.
His forced confession of the Duma arson was thrown out for good reason. Under torture, physical or emotional, he is not a credible witness against himself. (Who among us would not confess under the circumstances?)
The plea bargain is just another forced confession by a fake judicial process that continues to put Elisha and his family under tremendous emotional duress through emotional blackmail.
The reality is that there is no lawyer in Israel who will dare represent a kid who can legitimately justify bringing charges against the Prime Minister of Israel, the President of Israel, the Defense Minister of Israel, the Justice Minister of Israel, the Supreme Court of Israel, the Jewish Division of Shabak, MKs, and the Media and prestigious Rabbanim all complicit for prematurely and falsely condemning "Jewish Terror" in the Duma case within 24 hours of it occurring. All the above guilty parties have successfully kept this false narrative going weeks and months and years with no apologies.
The public condemnation against the myth of "Jewish Terror" in August 2015 went viral, across the globe, within a week, with no genuine real investigation to speak of. It was based solely on very questionable, non-convincing Hebrew graffiti found at the scene of the crime and the "professional expertise" of a biased Jewish Division of Terror of the Shabak (which many say should be dismantled).
This so called "Jewish Division" within the Shabak has a long history of seeking to manufacture Jewish terrorists for political motivations.
Based on the false myth that "Hilltop Youth" are ticking time bombs, tens of innocent, idealistic youths who love the Land of Israel were denied due process, interrogated, denied counsel and habeas corpus, tortured emotionally and physically, and internationally slandered. Their good name was publicly smeared by reputable, trusted, powerful and influential leaders of Israel.
I am not only talking about E. Odess or Amiram ben Uliel. Tens, if not hundreds of settler youth were treated as if they were ticking time bombs, and this has not ceased to this day. They continue to be at the mercy of the draconian punishment of Administrative Detention (imprisonment without legal representation), a politically biased court, biased prosecution, and biased investigation.
President Trump would accurately call it a "Witch Hunt"!
Hoaxes based on graffiti have been used way before the Duma arson as a successful tool to incriminate innocent people for political motives.
The Jewish Division of Terror of Shabak has a history of planting agents and moles among settlers for the purpose of creative a false narrative of fabricated "Jewish terror".
If this plea bargain will continue to perpetuate a false narrative, slandering settlers as "Jewish terrorists", it will only to protect all the VIPs who were too quick to condemn the arson on Jews, quick to slander and destroy the lives of beautiful and patriotic settler kids and their families for political reasons.
We as a people can choose to persist in this false narrative for the benefit of protecting all those in leadership roles who rushed to falsely condemn Hilltop Settler Youth prematurely for political gain, or we can insist on due process. The courts must free Elisha O. for lack of evidence and focus on truth to find the real perpetrators of the Duma arson. They can start by investigating the feuding Arabs in the town of Duma who have a long history of arson against the Dawabshe family.
The Odess family stated that signing the plea bargain was not based on truth!
I believe them.
There needs to be some solid evidence other than Elisha's own confessions to incriminate him.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Following is a statement by Helen Freedman, Executive Director of AFSI (Americans for a Safe Israel)
"The situation with E. Odess is so totally disgraceful and shameful. PM Netanyahu needs to examine the facts and totally exonerate Elisha. He and the family have suffered enough. The plea bargain is a sham. It should be scrapped and total innocence should be declared."
Helen Freedman, Executive Dir., AFSI
Statement by MK Betzalel Smotrich:
"What the State did to this minor and his family is among the most severe injustices in Israel's history. I call upon the Attorney General to intervene at last in this case and stop the witch hung that is mortally damaging the very little trust remaining in the law enforcement system..." (12-07-18) ....
Statement by Ruth Gavison, renowned Israeli Law Professor at the Hebrew University:
"We presently find ourselves at a critical juncture in the Duma blood libel. Not only is the issue of torture under examination, but also the question of the proposed plea deal.
This proposed plea deal is a form of criminal extortion. The State Attorney's Office is pressuring the family of Elisha O. to accept this plea deal with the unrelenting coercive pressure of the court. While accepting a plea deal will save time in the courtroom, it is inherently dishonest and is a distortion of the legal process. The prosecution has all the time and all means to pressure the defendant indefinitely to confess to the most serious charges. The defendant, on the other hand, does not have the financial or emotional means to wage a costly and lengthy legal battle to prove his innocence."
