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JUDGE QUASHES INDICTMENT OF PUGILISTIC PRIEST
By Jeremy Sharon
Jerusalem Post
Oct 31 2011
Greek Orthodox cleric was sued for punching haredi man who spat in
his direction in 2008.
In a rare ruling, a judge in the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court dismissed
an indictment filed against a priest who punched a haredi yeshiva
student in the face for having spat at him as he passed.
In June 2008, Greek Orthodox priest Martarsian was walking along
The Armenian's Street, in the Armenian Quarter of the Old City of
Jerusalem, when the yeshiva student spat toward the ground in his
direction.
The priest then punched the man in the face, causing him to bleed.
The priest did not dispute that he had punched the man, but asked
that the indictment be dismissed in accordance with a clause in
the law that allows for charges to be dismissed "if the indictment
contravenes the essence of the principles of justice and fairness."
Judge Dov Pollock said in his ruling last Tuesday that the court had
heard evidence of daily incidents in which Christian clergy were spat
upon by members of the ultra-Orthodox community, something which,
the judge added, has been occurring for a number of years and which
the police has not acted to prevent.
"Needless to say, spitting toward the accused when he was wearing
the mantle of the church is a criminal offense," the judge said.
Those who do this "hurt not only the people they spit at, but the
image of our country, tourism and our values."
The judge criticized the priest for taking the law into his own hands
but said that it was equally deplorable that the authorities do not
take the required action to uproot the phenomenon through prosecution
and education.
"It is intolerable that a man of the Christian faith should be
demeaned because of his religion, in the same way that it is for a Jew,
Pollock said.
"The Jewish people experienced a long history of Christian
anti-Semitism that brought great suffering to Jews and Judaism,"
the judge continued.
"However, with the realization of the return of the Jewish people
to sovereignty and independence, the state must strive not to look
back but to establish a country that guarantees freedom of religion
and worship to every religion, a state where every person is equal
before the law without distinction of race or religion. These things
are the cornerstone of the Declaration of Independence, and the rock
of the foundation of Israel as a Jewish, Zionist and democratic state."
The plaintiff told the court that he had not spat at the priest to
degrade him but because he suffered from a medical complaint that
caused him to produce a lot of saliva.
Pollock dismissed this argument owing to the fact that he had not
produced any medical documentation to substantiate the claim, nor
had he needed to spit during the duration of the court proceedings.
"The defendant is being prosecuted for having, in a single incident,
punched a man who spat in front of him, after having suffered years
of being spat at and demeaned while wearing the mantle of the church,
and having never received any response from the authorities for this
distress," the judge said.
He ruled that the indictment represented a contravention of the
principles of justice, for which he was dismissing the charges.
Shahar Ilan, vice president of Hiddush - For Religious Freedom and
Equality, applauded the ruling and called on rabbis and leaders of
the haredi community to denounce the phenomenon of members of their
community spitting at Christian clergy.
"The haredi leadership has to understand that the fact that we have
established a Jewish state brings responsibility, Ilan told The
Jerusalem Post on Sunday.
"We have to prove that we don't treat people from other religions as
Jews were treated in the past. The idea that we came here and treated
others as we were treated is simply insufferable."
Rabbi Shlomo Riskin of Efrat, co-founder of the Center for
Jewish-Christian Understanding and Cooperation, also welcomed the
ruling.
"The crime this man committed by spitting at the priest was
embarrassing him. This yeshiva student was in return embarrassed
by having been struck by the priest, so I hope it was a lesson well
learned for this particular yeshiva student," Riskin said.
"The haredi community's attitude to the Christian church stems from
the pogroms carried out by Christians mobs against Jews in Europe
for hundreds of years, incited by members of the Christian clergy,
Riskin said.
"But times have changed and a whole new era of Jewish-Christian
relations and understanding has dawned upon the world, and the haredim
- and all Jews - should understand this and act accordingly."
http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=243803
By Jeremy Sharon
Jerusalem Post
Oct 31 2011
Greek Orthodox cleric was sued for punching haredi man who spat in
his direction in 2008.
In a rare ruling, a judge in the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court dismissed
an indictment filed against a priest who punched a haredi yeshiva
student in the face for having spat at him as he passed.
In June 2008, Greek Orthodox priest Martarsian was walking along
The Armenian's Street, in the Armenian Quarter of the Old City of
Jerusalem, when the yeshiva student spat toward the ground in his
direction.
The priest then punched the man in the face, causing him to bleed.
The priest did not dispute that he had punched the man, but asked
that the indictment be dismissed in accordance with a clause in
the law that allows for charges to be dismissed "if the indictment
contravenes the essence of the principles of justice and fairness."
Judge Dov Pollock said in his ruling last Tuesday that the court had
heard evidence of daily incidents in which Christian clergy were spat
upon by members of the ultra-Orthodox community, something which,
the judge added, has been occurring for a number of years and which
the police has not acted to prevent.
"Needless to say, spitting toward the accused when he was wearing
the mantle of the church is a criminal offense," the judge said.
Those who do this "hurt not only the people they spit at, but the
image of our country, tourism and our values."
The judge criticized the priest for taking the law into his own hands
but said that it was equally deplorable that the authorities do not
take the required action to uproot the phenomenon through prosecution
and education.
"It is intolerable that a man of the Christian faith should be
demeaned because of his religion, in the same way that it is for a Jew,
Pollock said.
"The Jewish people experienced a long history of Christian
anti-Semitism that brought great suffering to Jews and Judaism,"
the judge continued.
"However, with the realization of the return of the Jewish people
to sovereignty and independence, the state must strive not to look
back but to establish a country that guarantees freedom of religion
and worship to every religion, a state where every person is equal
before the law without distinction of race or religion. These things
are the cornerstone of the Declaration of Independence, and the rock
of the foundation of Israel as a Jewish, Zionist and democratic state."
The plaintiff told the court that he had not spat at the priest to
degrade him but because he suffered from a medical complaint that
caused him to produce a lot of saliva.
Pollock dismissed this argument owing to the fact that he had not
produced any medical documentation to substantiate the claim, nor
had he needed to spit during the duration of the court proceedings.
"The defendant is being prosecuted for having, in a single incident,
punched a man who spat in front of him, after having suffered years
of being spat at and demeaned while wearing the mantle of the church,
and having never received any response from the authorities for this
distress," the judge said.
He ruled that the indictment represented a contravention of the
principles of justice, for which he was dismissing the charges.
Shahar Ilan, vice president of Hiddush - For Religious Freedom and
Equality, applauded the ruling and called on rabbis and leaders of
the haredi community to denounce the phenomenon of members of their
community spitting at Christian clergy.
"The haredi leadership has to understand that the fact that we have
established a Jewish state brings responsibility, Ilan told The
Jerusalem Post on Sunday.
"We have to prove that we don't treat people from other religions as
Jews were treated in the past. The idea that we came here and treated
others as we were treated is simply insufferable."
Rabbi Shlomo Riskin of Efrat, co-founder of the Center for
Jewish-Christian Understanding and Cooperation, also welcomed the
ruling.
"The crime this man committed by spitting at the priest was
embarrassing him. This yeshiva student was in return embarrassed
by having been struck by the priest, so I hope it was a lesson well
learned for this particular yeshiva student," Riskin said.
"The haredi community's attitude to the Christian church stems from
the pogroms carried out by Christians mobs against Jews in Europe
for hundreds of years, incited by members of the Christian clergy,
Riskin said.
"But times have changed and a whole new era of Jewish-Christian
relations and understanding has dawned upon the world, and the haredim
- and all Jews - should understand this and act accordingly."
http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=243803