I should add that this is what the NYPD does now because Bill Bratten is
back in New York. Also, Mayor de Blasio
has just visited Israel to give it the support of NYC.
Miriam
Israeli Settlers Want New York Police Tactics in Jerusalem
Sunday, 25 October 2015 00:00 By Rebecca Pierce, The Electronic Intifada |
Report
A Palestinian keeps his distance while pulling up his shirt for an Israeli
border police officer in an East Jerusalem Palestinian neighborhood, October
17, 2015. (Photo: Uriel Sinai / The New York Times)
Want to challenge injustice and make real change happen? That's Truthout's
goal - support our work with a donation today!
Israeli settlers in occupied Jerusalem are urging the authorities to step up
their harassment of Palestinians by introducing New York-style law
enforcement tactics.
In an attempt to crush Palestinian resistance, the settlers want to see a
"zero tolerance" policy pursued, under which stiff penalties would be
imposed on anyone defying Israel's orders.
Daniel Luria, a spokesperson for the settler group Ateret Cohanim, is
arguing that the Israeli authorities model their approach on the "broken
windows" one favored by Rudy Giuliani, mayor of New York City from 1994 to
2001.
"Giuliani, I don't think in the beginning went after the rapists and the
murderers," Luria told The Electronic Intifada, "he went after the small
things."
Based on the theory that all crime would fall if minor offenses were
prosecuted aggressively, the "broken windows" approach led to a racially
discriminatory form of policing.
In 2000, more than 50 percent of all adults arrested for misdemeanors in New
York City were African-Americans. Yet African-Americans comprised less than
one quarter of the city's population at the time.
Ateret Cohanim's calls chime with those made by senior figures in Israel's
ruling coalition.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for example, has declared "war" on
Palestinian stone-throwers.
As well as loosening restrictions on when Israeli forces may open fire at
stone-throwers, a new law has been approved to allow stone-throwers to be
locked up for a maximum of 20 years.
Even before these measures, stone-throwing was the single most common charge
leveled against Palestinian children in Israeli military courts, which deny
defendants basic rights of due process. Israeli settlers accused of the same
offense almost always escape without charge.
"Act Like the Owner"
Luria suggested that his group's demands are part of wider efforts to step
up Israel's colonization of Jerusalem.
"In Hebrew it's called a bal habayit - act like the owner," he said. "When
you act like a true bal habayit, like you own the place, then you have the
fear of your citizens also. Not just fear, but they understand that a
person's sitting on top of you."
Ateret Cohanim is not alone in recommending that New York-style tactics be
used in Palestine. Writing in The Times of Israel, a right-wing website,
Likud politician Danny Danon last year praised New York's crackdown on
"everything from graffiti to prostitution" and claimed "this is what is
needed now in Jerusalem."
He made it clear that the approach he advocated would primarily target
Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem. "We must immediately end the soft
hand of law enforcement in the eastern neighborhoods that has endured for
too long," he wrote.
Then a member of Israel's parliament, the Knesset, Danon was subsequently
appointed Israel's ambassador to the United Nations.
Israel's policing techniques already bear many similarities to those of the
United States.
In recent weeks, the Israeli military and police have increased their
presence in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City.
While the deployment of extra forces has been presented by Netanyahu as a
response to the stabbing of some Israeli settlers, many Palestinians have
complained of being arrested or punished on charges completely unrelated to
stabbing incidents.
The invasive searches which Palestinians have to endure can be compared to
the "stop and frisk" techniques introduced by Bill Bratton, who was New York
police commissioner in the 1990s. Such techniques have disproportionately
affected people of color.
While the Israeli police have stated that they are subjecting Palestinians
in East Jerusalem to "arrest raids" on a daily basis, some government
ministers are calling for even greater aggression. Naftali Bennett, the
education minister and a long-standing activist in Israel's settler
movement, is among those pushing for a higher police presence in East
Jerusalem.
Intimidation
Palestinian shopkeepers in Jerusalem's Old City have also complained of
intimidation by the Israeli authorities.
The authorities have begun imposing fines of 5,000 shekels ($1,300) on
Palestinian shopkeepers over regulations that had not been previously
enforced.
As a result, stores have been punished because of outdoor displays and for
lacking "no smoking" signs.
Khaled Mustafa Tufah, a shopkeeper in the Old City, witnessed five cases of
Israelis punishing his colleagues one morning last week.
Arguing that shopkeepers "have the right to show off their stocks," he said
that the authorities have "a new excuse, that you should put none of your
stuff outside."
"They don't give them [shopkeepers] a chance to take it in or out," he said.
"They just start to fine."
An Old City café owner, who asked to be identified only as Abu Omar, said,
"It's ugly to see all the time guns and soldiers around, it's not normal
I
worry for my children every time they leave the house."
An unusually high police force presence has been noticed, too, in towns
within present-day Israel that have large numbers of Palestinian residents.
Protesters against Israel's recent killings of Palestinians have faced
increased repression.
Adalah, a civil rights group, has calculated that 150 young Palestinian
citizens of Israel were arrested for attending demonstrations during the
first two weeks of October.
Israeli police are enforcing rules in a discriminatory way by, among other
things, issuing large numbers of fines on people who park their cars near
protests.
"It's legal, you cannot stop police from standing in Nazareth and giving
tickets to people," said Majd Kayyal, a spokesperson for Adalah. "But still
it's a kind of collective punishment to put pressure on people not to take
part in demonstrations."
This piece was reprinted by Truthout with permission or license. It may not
be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.
REBECCA PIERCE
Rebecca Pierce is an independent journalist and documentary filmmaker with a
focus on militarization, borders, prisons and policing.
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Israeli Settlers Want New York Police Tactics in Jerusalem
Sunday, 25 October 2015 00:00 By Rebecca Pierce, The Electronic Intifada |
Report
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reference not valid.Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. Error! Hyperlink
reference not valid.
A Palestinian keeps his distance while pulling up his shirt for an
Israeli border police officer in an East Jerusalem Palestinian neighborhood,
October 17, 2015. (Photo: Uriel Sinai / The New York Times)
Want to challenge injustice and make real change happen? That's
Truthout's goal - support our work with a donation today!
Israeli settlers in occupied Jerusalem are urging the authorities to step up
their harassment of Palestinians by introducing New York-style law
enforcement tactics.
In an attempt to crush Palestinian resistance, the settlers want to see a
"zero tolerance" policy pursued, under which stiff penalties would be
imposed on anyone defying Israel's orders.
Daniel Luria, a spokesperson for the settler group Ateret Cohanim, is
arguing that the Israeli authorities model their approach on the "broken
windows" one favored by Rudy Giuliani, mayor of New York City from 1994 to
2001.
"Giuliani, I don't think in the beginning went after the rapists and the
murderers," Luria told The Electronic Intifada, "he went after the small
things."
Based on the theory that all crime would fall if minor offenses were
prosecuted aggressively, the "broken windows" approach led to a racially
discriminatory form of policing.
In 2000, more than 50 percent of all adults arrested for misdemeanors in New
York City were African-Americans. Yet African-Americans comprised less than
one quarter of the city's population at the time.
Ateret Cohanim's calls chime with those made by senior figures in Israel's
ruling coalition.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for example, has declared "war" on
Palestinian stone-throwers.
As well as loosening restrictions on when Israeli forces may open fire at
stone-throwers, a new law has been approved to allow stone-throwers to be
locked up for a maximum of 20 years.
Even before these measures, stone-throwing was the single most common charge
leveled against Palestinian children in Israeli military courts, which deny
defendants basic rights of due process. Israeli settlers accused of the same
offense almost always escape without charge.
"Act Like the Owner"
Luria suggested that his group's demands are part of wider efforts to step
up Israel's colonization of Jerusalem.
"In Hebrew it's called a bal habayit - act like the owner," he said. "When
you act like a true bal habayit, like you own the place, then you have the
fear of your citizens also. Not just fear, but they understand that a
person's sitting on top of you."
Ateret Cohanim is not alone in recommending that New York-style tactics be
used in Palestine. Writing in The Times of Israel, a right-wing website,
Likud politician Danny Danon last year praised New York's crackdown on
"everything from graffiti to prostitution" and claimed "this is what is
needed now in Jerusalem."
He made it clear that the approach he advocated would primarily target
Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem. "We must immediately end the soft
hand of law enforcement in the eastern neighborhoods that has endured for
too long," he wrote.
Then a member of Israel's parliament, the Knesset, Danon was subsequently
appointed Israel's ambassador to the United Nations.
Israel's policing techniques already bear many similarities to those of the
United States.
In recent weeks, the Israeli military and police have increased their
presence in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City.
While the deployment of extra forces has been presented by Netanyahu as a
response to the stabbing of some Israeli settlers, many Palestinians have
complained of being arrested or punished on charges completely unrelated to
stabbing incidents.
The invasive searches which Palestinians have to endure can be compared to
the "stop and frisk" techniques introduced by Bill Bratton, who was New York
police commissioner in the 1990s. Such techniques have disproportionately
affected people of color.
While the Israeli police have stated that they are subjecting Palestinians
in East Jerusalem to "arrest raids" on a daily basis, some government
ministers are calling for even greater aggression. Naftali Bennett, the
education minister and a long-standing activist in Israel's settler
movement, is among those pushing for a higher police presence in East
Jerusalem.
Intimidation
Palestinian shopkeepers in Jerusalem's Old City have also complained of
intimidation by the Israeli authorities.
The authorities have begun imposing fines of 5,000 shekels ($1,300) on
Palestinian shopkeepers over regulations that had not been previously
enforced.
As a result, stores have been punished because of outdoor displays and for
lacking "no smoking" signs.
Khaled Mustafa Tufah, a shopkeeper in the Old City, witnessed five cases of
Israelis punishing his colleagues one morning last week.
Arguing that shopkeepers "have the right to show off their stocks," he said
that the authorities have "a new excuse, that you should put none of your
stuff outside."
"They don't give them [shopkeepers] a chance to take it in or out," he said.
"They just start to fine."
An Old City café owner, who asked to be identified only as Abu Omar, said,
"It's ugly to see all the time guns and soldiers around, it's not normal
I
worry for my children every time they leave the house."
An unusually high police force presence has been noticed, too, in towns
within present-day Israel that have large numbers of Palestinian residents.
Protesters against Israel's recent killings of Palestinians have faced
increased repression.
Adalah, a civil rights group, has calculated that 150 young Palestinian
citizens of Israel were arrested for attending demonstrations during the
first two weeks of October.
Israeli police are enforcing rules in a discriminatory way by, among other
things, issuing large numbers of fines on people who park their cars near
protests.
"It's legal, you cannot stop police from standing in Nazareth and giving
tickets to people," said Majd Kayyal, a spokesperson for Adalah. "But still
it's a kind of collective punishment to put pressure on people not to take
part in demonstrations."
This piece was reprinted by Truthout with permission or license. It may not
be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.
Rebecca Pierce
Rebecca Pierce is an independent journalist and documentary filmmaker with a
focus on militarization, borders, prisons and policing.
Related Stories
Israel Slammed Over Treatment of Palestinian Children in Detention
By Mel Frykberg, Inter Press Service | ReportIsraeli Settlers Demand
Demolition of Palestinian Village
By Charlotte Silver, Electronic Intifada | ReportIsrael-Palestine: As
Stabbings, Shootings Kill Dozens, Endless Occupation Fuels Resistance
By Amy Goodman, Democracy Now! | Video Interview
Show Comments
