High Court Judge Muzzles Terror Victim’s Mother

A shocked silence fell upon the Israeli High Court on Thursday when Judge Miriam Naor cut off the mother of a terror victim in mid-sentence, saying that her expression of anguish at the treatment of families like hers was not admissible.

The moment came during a hearing regarding the demolition of the homes of seven Arab terrorists who murdered seven Jews. The court was in session to determine its response to a petition submitted by the families of the terrorists, seeking a cancellation of the demolition orders.

Devora Gonen, the mother of Danny Gonen, who was shot to death by Arab terrorists in June while hiking north of Yerushalayim, got her chance to speak in favor of the demolitions after a long wait.

“The murdered have become invisible. You turned the victims into the guilty party. I hear how unfortunate the families of the terrorists are — we aren’t…?” asked Gonen.

At that point, Naor, the president of the High Court, broke in, saying, “even a bereaved mother has limits as to what she can say here. The madam will not use the rights given to her here so as to fling accusations.”

Naor’s rebuke stunned attendees at the hearing, Arutz Sheva reported.

Another of the bereaved parents, Eliezer Rosenfeld, father of Malachi Rosenfeld who was murdered last June near Shvut Rachel, voiced similar sentiments: “I do not sleep at night. It is truly appalling to hear about the rights of the families of murderers. Apparently they have rights, but we do not. Nothing apparently happened to us — obviously I am being cynical. It’s not just the parents, but the relatives, friends, and schoolmates who suffer from the loss.”

This article appeared in print on page 6 of the October 30th, 2015 edition of Hamodia.