International Law

Israelis begin voting in general election

By John Hirst

Israelis have begun voting in a general election which will choose the prime minister who engages with President Barack Obama's new drive for peace in the Middle East.

The only reason I have posted this story, although the Barack Obama aspect is interesting, is to remind the Home Office Media Monitoring Unit of this...

Israelis begin voting in general election...And so do their prisoners

"Israel
In 1995, Yitzak Rabin (prime minister of Israel) was shot dead by Yigal Amir as he left a peace rally in Jerusalem. Soon after, an election was called; under Israeli law, all prisoners were allowed to vote. In a case taken by a private citizen, the Israeli courts refused to revoke Amir?s citizenship to prevent him voting in the election to replace Rabin (Jerusalem Post, 15 May 1996:4). The court declared that disenfranchisement would hurt, not Amir, but Israeli democracy (Ewald 2004: 134). Imprisonment was his punishment, the Supreme Court ruled, and when the right to vote is denied, ? the base of all fundamental rights is shaken ? (original in Hebrew, quoted in Ewald 2004: 134). Appalled by Amir?s participation in the election to replace her husband, Rabin?s widow, Leah, believed that it ? was an unprecedented scandal ? ( Jerusalem Post , 30 May 1996:4). Shimon Peres, who took over as prime minister on Rabin?s death, doubtless spoke for many when he asked ? How can this
murderer be allowed to vote? ? ( The Washington Post , 29 May 1996:A14). In the election to choose the successor to the man he had killed, Amir was the fi rst to vote in his prison, his attorney declaring ? he?s concerned about Israel and the future ? ( Jerusalem Post , 30 May 1996:4). In the 2006 general election, more than 9,000 prisoners were eligible to vote, one of whom ? British electrician Daniel Pinner ? stood for election ( Grayeff 2006 )".

(Cormac Behan and Ian O?Donnell, PRISONERS, POLITICS AND THE POLLS: Enfranchisement and the Burden of Responsibility, BRIT. J. CRIMINOL. (2008) 48, 319?336 © The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies (ISTD)).

Related content...

Swearing at the telly becomes a crime

Foreign Office diplomat arrested over 'anti-Semitic' rant

A senior Foreign Office diplomat has been arrested after being overheard during an allegedly anti-Semitic tirade of abuse.

Rowan Laxton, 47, an expert on the Middle East, allegedly shouted "fucking Israelis" "fucking Jews" while watching television reports of the Israeli attack on Gaza in the gym.

He is also alleged to have said Israeli soldiers should be "wiped off the face of the earth" during the rant, which was overheard by staff and gym members.

A complaint was made to police and Mr Laxton was arrested for inciting religious hatred through threatening words and behaviour. He was subsequently bailed until late next month.

The maximum penalty for inciting religious hatred is a seven-year prison term or a fine or both.

Mr Laxton, who is still working normally, is head of the South Asia Group at the Foreign Office, on a salary of around £70,000.

He is responsible for all the UK's diplomacy in that area and for briefing Foreign Secretary David Miliband, who is Jewish.

Gizza job, I can do that, I often swear at the telly, as do many grumpy old men, and a lot of others too. It's beginning to make Carol Thatcher sound almost saintly...

Full post as published by prisonlawinsideout on February 10, 2009 (boomark / email).