Balad opposition delays partial lifting of Bishara case gag order

[Tom Joad]

Police had agreed on Sunday to partially lift the gag order regarding the investigation into Balad chairman Azmi Bishara, but the court hearing on the matter was delayed until Wednesday due to the Israeli Arab party's objections.

The Justice Ministry on Sunday afternoon banned all entry to Balad's Knesset office of Balad party chairman MK Azmi Bishara, hours after he submitted his resignation from parliament at Israel's embassy in Cairo.

Balad announced Sunday it would prefer that the gag order, which prohibits publication of suspicions against Bishara or details of police investigations into the allegations, be rescinded completely.

Balad sources said that "a partial lifting of the gag order will allow police to present their version in a selective and distorted manner, while Balad is prevented from publishing details."

The party further called the allegations against Bishara an attempt to destroy his political career and silence the Arab MK.

More from http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/851366.html

[breakaleg]

1. Is this a witch hunt or is he guilty of "consorting with the enemy"? What does that even mean?

[henank]

2. You were right on your second guess

He's guilty of consorting with the enemy.

On Edit: from http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam/2007/04/12/shin-bet-hounding-leading-israeli-arab-into-exile/

But Bishara visited Syria and Lebanon immediately after last summer's war and made statements the Israeli government considered objectionable:

Bishara…warned of the possibility that "Israel launch a preliminary offensive in more than one place, in a bid to overcome the internal crisis in the country and in an attempt to restore its deterrence capability." … Lebanon, told the Lebanese prime minister that Hizbullah's resistance to Israel has "lifted the spirit of the Arab people".

Not only consorting with the enemy, but he was giving aid and comfort to them, and even advising them on Israel's moves during the war. That would classify as treason in any country (see his above comments).

[Violet_Crumble]

3. Why bother with an investigation when he's already been tried and found guilty on the internet?

You didn't post the sentence immediately preceding the bit you quoted which said: 'Neither of us knows precisely what Bishara may be charged with.' None of what you have accused him of is anything but speculation at the moment, which I thought was made abundantly clear on the blog you linked to...

[henank]

4. I was simply answering a question by Breakaleg

He (she?) asked if the accusations against Bishara are a witchhunt or is he guilty of consorting with the enemy. I answered by bringing a quote from the internet to prove that it's not an empty witchhunt (assuming you consider identifying with a nation's enemy as a Bad Thing). If you don't like that quote, then read the OP instead.

Bishara has in the past angered many in Israel by openly identifying with Syria and with Lebanon's Hezbollah militants. Critics charge he has encouraged violent attacks against Israel, which Bishara denies.

Israeli police have confirmed that they were investigating Bishara's case.

I think that's pretty clear. There are solid accusations against him for things he has done openly but until they are investigated they will remain accusations. When the investigation is over he'll either be innocent or guilty. No witchhunt, no nothing.

[breakaleg]

5. I read your post several times and couldn't really find any crime.

[oberliner]

6. Bishara suspected of aiding enemies during Second Lebanon War

Former MK Azmi Bishara is suspected of acting against the security of the State of Israel during the Second Lebanon War, according to details of the investigation against him released Wednesday after a court partially lifted a gag order on the probe.

The suspicions include aiding Israel's enemies during wartime, passing intelligence to the enemy, contacts with foreign agents, some of which allegedly took place during the Second Lebanon War.

Bishara is also suspected of money laundering by allegedly personally receiving large amounts of money from abroad, some of which was transferred during the war last year.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/852066.html

[Englander]

7. "Is Bishara another Fahima?"

By Haaretz Editorial

The Azmi Bishara affair appears on the face of it to be a new version of the Tali Fahima trial. On the basis of the little that has been published to date, it seems likely that the main charge - assisting the enemy in time of war, which is the gravest charge possible - will turn out to be a tendentious exaggeration of his telephone conversations and meetings with Lebanese and Syrian nationals, and possibly also of his expressions of support for their military activities. It seems very doubtful that MK Bishara even has access to defense-related secrets that he could sell to the enemy, and like in the Fahima case, the fact that he identified with the enemy during wartime appears to be what fueled the desire to seek and find an excuse for bringing him to trial.

Fahima was sentenced to three years in prison for living in the home of Zacharia Zbeidi, the commander of the Al-Aqsa Brigades in Jenin, during an Israel Defense Forces operation there, and for reading him an IDF document that was found in the area. She was accused of assisting the enemy by translating a secret document for him, even though this charge was obviously nonsensical: Zbeidi did not require her assistance, since he knows Hebrew. Fahima spent three years in prison unnecessarily, because the system objected to her sympathizing with the enemy at a time when terrorist attacks were being carried out in Israel.

In Fahima's case, her three-month administrative detention, as well as her indictment and sentence, stemmed more from the public mood than from the substance of her offense. It seems that the case against Bishara is also based more on the justified revulsion against his sympathy for Hezbollah than on whether he actually undermined national security. Hopefully, the gag order will soon be lifted, so that it will be possible to analyze the accusations in detail.

>snip

The results of the Fahima trial suggest that Bishara's wariness of the courts is not unfounded. Nonetheless, someone who chose to be a Knesset member and to join the legislature of the State of Israel is not supposed to flee the country when he is in trouble. He is expected to fight the accusations against him with all legal means at his disposal, and these are substantial.

For its part, the state must release every detail that could contribute to an understanding of the Bishara case without delay, in order to avoid creating the impression that secrecy is serving as a cover for a lack of substantial evidence. Because Bishara has fled the country, and it is not clear whether he will ever actually be tried, the state should also publish his version of events, as given to police investigators during two separate interrogations.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/852845.html

?click

[oberliner]

8. Israeli police reveal more details of allegations against Azmi Bishara

JERUSALEM: The Israeli police revealed on Wednesday further details of allegations amounting to treason against a former Arab Israeli lawmaker, Azmi Bishara.

According to police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld, Bishara is suspected of passing information to Hezbollah during the war waged against the Lebanese militia by Israel last summer. The 34-day conflict followed Hezbollah's seizure of two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid on July 12. Hezbollah fired thousands of rockets at Israel in the course of the war.

Bishara, who left Israel a month ago, has denied any wrongdoing.

Bishara is alleged to have advised Hezbollah on "how to cause further damage to Israel" by giving his contacts geographical information and urging them "to strike further south than Haifa," Rosenfeld said.

Rosenfeld said that Bishara also handed over "classified information" about the Israeli army during the war - information the police said he had access to as a member of Parliament - and advised his contacts of changes in Israel's thinking as the war progressed.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/05/02/africa/jerus.php