Photo: CC-by-ND - Jennifer Moo via Flickr
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel has criticized the decision to prosecute a rabbi for an article he published criticizing the former chief rabbi of the Israel Defense Forces
On December 31, 2012, Rabbi Elitzur Segal was convicted of insulting a public servant after publishing an article on a website that criticized former Chief Military Rabbi Israel Weiss. Rabbi Segal was sentenced to a suspended prison term of six months, a NIS 3,000 fine and was ordered to pay compensation of NIS 4,000 shekels.
ACRI believe that the punishment handed down to Rabbi Segal is extremely harsh, and is concerned in particular by the jail sentence – even though it is suspended – that was imposed for a public expression.
Attorney Lila Margalit, director of human rights in criminal proceedings at ACRI explained: “In a democratic society, citizens have the right to criticize public officials in a harsh and even abusive manner. Putting a person on trial for a critical article about a senior officer – as harsh as it may be – is a serious infringement on freedom of expression, which is so essential to democracy. Use of the problematic clause of ‘insulting a public official’ can only be justified, if ever, in extreme scenarios – for instance when a public servant is insulted and cursed to his face in a manner that substantially harms his ability to do his job.”
