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Subject: Police brutality against WiG members Date: Sun, 14 Jul 2002 20:04:28 +0200

A few days ago, Nadia Matar was summoned by the police to "urgently come and be investigated". She went this Sunday morning, July 14th. As she expected, the police accused her and another Women in Green member of "attacking policemen , disturbing the peace" and other nonsense. The accusations were about a demonstration held on June 23rd, 2002, a few days after the massacre in Itamar where Rachel Shabo, her 3 children and another neighbor were brutally murdered by Arab monsters.

The following is the translation of a letter that Nadia sent a few days after that demonstration to police Minister Uzi Landau:

July 1, 2002

Minister of Internal Security Uzi Landau fax: 5811832, 5308039, 6753111 (tel.: 5308500)

re: Police Brutality against members of "Women in Green" at the Demonstration on June 23, 2002, and the Media Campaign of Lies

I am writing this letter to you after reading with disgust of another police raid against the children of Hebron's Jews today.

My letter to you comes in the wake of pressure by members of our movement, who pleaded that I report to you what happened to us last week. I told them that it was pointless to write to you, because, in any event, Uzi Landau has no influence over the police. We always love to hear you speak in the media, because you well express the moods of the national camp. But, unfortunately, we were extremely disappointed by your lack of actual influence over the police, and its inappropriate conduct against activists from the national camp. Therefore, at my fellow members' bidding, I decided to write to you - but, unfortunately, I do not have any great hopes that justice will come to light.

The following are the facts: On Sunday, June 23, 2002, several days after the massacre in Itamar and the other murders of Jews by Palestinazi Arabs, we came to demonstrate opposite the Prime Minister's Office in the Rose Garden. We felt the need to express our pain over the daily murders of Jews, mothers, children, while the government continues to exercise restraint.

The demonstration began at 9:00 a.m., and was meant to end at 11:00 a.m. The demonstration was with a permit, that we had obtained at the beginning of the previous week. The official subject was opposition to the establishment of the fence, but, of course, after the massacre in Itamar, this subject also became the theme of the demonstration. About one hundred women came, some of them elderly, some of them mothers with carriages and babies. A small group of men also came. The activists came from all parts of the country. Settlers from Ramat Gan, from Holon, from Sheikh Munis, from Judea, Samaria, and Gaza, and so on.

As you know, for months, during the rule of Ehud Barak, we demonstrated at the same place, we expressed our opinion with a microphone, and we returned home. This was the intent that same day: standing with signs, a few speeches, and that would be it.

But when we arrived, we realized that an Arab worker was engaged in straightening the sidewalk across the street. His machine made a terrible noise that prevented us from hearing ourselves, and, obviously, no one could hear the speeches over the microphone. We went over to a policeman there and nicely asked him to move the worker someplace else (the work of straightening the sidewalk was conducted over a route of hundreds of meters, to the Supreme Court and beyond. We requested that he go over there during the demonstration). The policeman agreed, and asked the worker to stop his work. The worker shut off the machine, and stopped working. I don't know why he did not move the machine to another spot.

For an hour and a quarter we conducted the demonstration as we regularly do: women delivered emotional and painful speeches, we blew a shofar (ram's horn), we spoke with the media, and so on.

And then suddenly, at about 10:25 am, we see that the policeman speaks with the Arab worker, and the latter returned to his machine and turned it on once again. The tremendous and terrible noise returned. I ran to the street to request of the policeman that he let us finish the demonstration in a proper manner. All that we wanted was to be there until 11:00. The policeman ignored us, and did not want to even speak with us.

I understood that he had received an order to silence our painful speeches. I understood that an attempt was being made to gag us. I told everyone: "They don't want to hear us in the offices of the Prime Minister. It seems that we have to go a bit closer. Whoever wants to come and ensure that they hear us - let's march to the parking lot, where we will continue until 11:00."

We all marched and entered the parking lot of the Prime Ministers offices, where we continued to express our protest - this time without a loudspeaker. The loudspeaker remained in the Rose Garden.

Suddenly, a policeman attacked me, and ever so brutally pulled my left arm, in such a manner that I was certain that it would break. The cries of the women apparently deterred him, and saved my hand. (It still hurts now.) The policeman continued to push me, until I fell to the ground. Other women, as well, were attacked. One of our members even was bleeding from her hand. They took the ID card from another (elderly) woman, and told her that she was under arrest!

This was simply terrible. It wasn't enough that we felt in mourning for our brothers and sisters who were murdered by Arabs - we were even attacked by policemen from the Israeli Police, who sought to prevent us from expressing our pain.

After the attack, some commander (with three stars on his shoulder boards) came. He calmed down the policemen, and consented to hear what we had to say.

He led us to believe that if we were to leave the parking lot area and cross over to the sidewalk on the other side of the street, he would let us finish the demonstration, and that that woman would be given back her ID card. We immediately agreed to his request, and we crossed over to the sidewalk. (And then Minister Effie Eitam also came, to ensure that his wife was alright. )

After singing Hatikvah, we dispersed and went home. The woman received her ID back. We thought this would be the end of it, but then we turned on the radio, and to our shock and horror we heard that the police had issued a lying announcement to the media as if we had attacked 3 policemen, and they were lightly injured! We did not know whether to cry or laugh! For years the Israeli media (especially the radio) has been ignoring our weekly activities, but when it is possible to besmirch our movement with a false announcement in order to besmirch us, then suddenly Israel Radio reports about us on its news!

I am certain that you will ask me why we did not file a complaint against the attacking policemen. I decided not to waste my time by filing a complaint against those policemen. Our bitter experience over the past years has taught us that both the Department for the Investigation of Police Officers and the State Attorney's Office are corrupt, with leftist tendencies, and therefore do not relate at all to complaints by people from the national camp. To the contrary, if anyone dares to file a complaint about police brutality, criminal proceedings are usually initiated against him, and false charges are brought against him, as if he were the attacker.

As I said, my letter to you is meant to express the grievance of us all at what happened. It is very painful for us to see that, despite the Likud being in power, the persecution campaign directed against the activists of the national camp has not stopped. A few days ago, I also received a notice "to come to the police" to be interrogated. I have no doubt that this interrogation is about that same demonstration, and I am certain that all manner of false charges will be raised against me.

Let it be clear to all- all this will be to no avail. I and my fellow members of Women in Green cannot be dissuaded. Despite the brutality by policemen, and despite their campaign of lies - we will continue to raise the cry of mothers, the cry of love of the people of Israel, the Land of Israel, and the Torah of Israel.

Sincerely, Nadia Matar, Chairperson, Women in Green http://www.womeningreen.org

Russian version