005 The State of Israel vs Daniel Pinner

The State fo Israel vs Daniel Pinner
By Daniel Pinner www.danielpinner.com
Photography, filming, & production by Shlomo Wollins

Daniel Pinner is a Jewish-British immigrant to Israel and he has just been released from ten months of continuous incarceration stemming from his defense of Jews in Gush Katif while being attacked by stones from an Arab mob.

Here is his story in his own words:

Very well, I confess: when about 50 Arabs attacked me with rocks, I fired a few warning shots in the air, in order to cover my retreat. I saw my life was in clear and present danger, and in pure instinctive self-defense, I fired those shots.

Many people (in particular, judges and other assorted intellectuals whose lives center around the genteel suburbs of north Tel Aviv, Ramat Hasharon and Tzahala) will argue that rocks are not dangerous to life.

Other people who have seen rock-throwing Arabs, can testify that rocks are dangerous to life. Unfortunately, those who know this fact can no longer testify.

Come to that, the court itself recognizes that rocks are dangerous to life. As I write these lines, my friend Shimshon Cytryn is under house arrest, and faces a charge of attempted murder — for allegedly throwing a rock at an Arab.

Apparently, a rock thrown by an Arab is harmless, while a rock thrown by a Jew is lethal.

In my case, I was accused of shooting an Arab named Nasser Wafi, who alleged that he was hit in the thigh by my bullet. In addition to the testimony of Nasser Wafi, several Arab “eye-witnesses” disposed of almost everything alleged by the government: how many people were holding firearms; how many shots were fired; what the alleged shooter looked like; what time Nasser Wafi was shot; the range at which he was shot; which leg he was wounded in.

However, the only thing these witnesses all agreed upon was that before any shots were fired, they (the Arabs) were throwing rocks at Jews.

But I digress.

The Court decreed, months ago, that I would be held in jail until the end of proceedings (to date, 6 1/2 months). When I appealed this decision, Her Honour Sarah Dovrat decided:

“The actions of the respondent [Daniel Pinner] are dangerous, regardless of the political background [i.e. the Disengagement]. A person who carries a weapon and uses it, testifies to the menace inherent in him, and is not a result of political tension…. Under these circumstances, the end of the Disengagement does not neutralize the respondent’s menace.” (Decision of the Be’er Sheva District Court, Case # B.Sh. 021515/03, given on 24th Tishrei 5766 – 27th October 2005)

If Her Honour happens to read this essay, I want her to know that I never imagined that by defending my life, and carefully not endangering the life of anyone else (not even the Arabs who would have happily taken my life), I thereby became a menace to society. I have legally held a firearm for about five years, and have used it precisely once — when I judged my life to be in danger. Even the prosecution did not claim that I am a serial shooter, or that I would be likely to shoot for no reason. Through my lawyer, Baruch Ben-Yosef, I appealed the 24th Tishrei decision to the Supreme Court. We lost. Then, as the case for the prosecution grew steadily weaker, we made another attempt to get house arrest. The same court, the same judge, a different date; the same decision: “The circumstances have not changed in any way, nor has any new fact been shown me, which can neutralize the respondent’s menace.” (Decision of the Be’er Sheva District Court, Case # B.Sh. 021515/03, given on 7th Kislev 5766 – 8th December 2005)

I have a couple of questions for Her Honour, Sarah Dovrat:

If the Court eventually acquits me, then should I nevertheless be held in jail indefinitely as a “menace to society”?

And if the Court convicts me, then should I be held in jail for the rest of my life, on the grounds that even after serving time, I might still be a “menace to society”?

On Monday, 4th Kislev (5th December 2005), a suicide terrorist detonated himself in a shopping mall in Netanya. Five Israelis were murdered, dozens injured. In a radio interview, a security guard stated that even though he recognized the suicide terrorist for what he was, he chose not to shoot for fear of what would happen to him if he did. Countless other security guards have made identical comments; they know that if they shoot terrorists, then they — the security guards — are likely to be arrested and held for months in jail, even if they are eventually acquitted. It is simply less hassle to shout a warning, let the terrorist detonate and hope that as few Jews as possible will be killed.

So, my final question to Her Honour Sarah Dovrat is: Which one of us (you or me) is the real menace to society?

Daniel was released last Thursday (April 27th) to his hometown of Kfar Tapuach to celebrate Shabbat with Daniel upon his homecoming. It was a sight of overwhelming joy to witness Daniel back in his local synagogue being called up to bless the Torah reading on this last Shabbat by many, many people who have been following his tragic story from the beginning.

Prior to the onset of Shabbat on Friday afternoon, I took a memorable walk with Daniel to a hilltop over his village, which was about 24 hours after his release from prison. With Daniel?s permission, I was able to film a 20-minute segment of our talk which for many of you will be the first time you meet this near-historic figure of a man.

A journalist, an activist, a politician, an ?enemy? of the state, a defender of Gush Katif, a translator of Torah books, a public speaker, a dog-trainer, and a pillar of fine character traits – a renaissance man in our times.

In the video which can be viewed below, Daniel speaks of his time in jail, in an extremely candid fashion. Listen to how this man has handled his jail time on false charges, how he feels about the State of Israel, and about one very dangerous incident in jail.

Daniel conducts a Biblical tour of this breathtaking section of the Land of Israel from our hilltop outlook. A last personal note: we were accompanied the entire time by Cassador, Daniel?s beloved dog, who never moved far away from Daniel. And finally, we journeyed to another hilltop to a small local cemetary with 4 graves. One of the graves is that of Nachshon, a dear friend of Daniel, who had passed away from cancer during the time that Daniel was imprisoned.

Despite pleas to the prison authorities for a short furlough to visit his dying friend, Daniel was denied that right or the ability to attend his funeral. This was the first time Daniel had visited his friend?s grave and it was an understandably emotional moment.

Allow us to introduce you to Mr Daniel Pinner.