(Editor’s Note: Tazpit News Agency, which says it tries to bring news to the non-Israeli public that other media often do not cover, here presents two stories of persistence in the face of tragedy. In one the family of a young man killed when Palestinians stoned his car win a court victory. In the other, an effort is underway to learn more about a soldier, who is unknown except for his name, who fell during Israel’s 1948 Independence War}
By Rivkah Rybak
Tazpit News Agency
Michael Palmer, the father of Asher Palmer and grandfather of Yonatan Palmer, has been waging a long battle seeking justice since the tragic terrorist attack on September 2011 that took the lives of both Asher and Yonatan. Asher, an American citizen, and Yonatan were travelling to Jerusalem to pick up Puah Palmer, Asher’s wife, who was pregnant at the time. Their car was struck with a two huge slabs of concrete thrown out of a car driving in the opposite direction, killing them both instantly.
At first the Army did not want to recognize that this was a terror attack. The Army initially claimed that Asher lost control of his vehicle while speeding down the highway from Kiryat Arba to Jerusalem. Evidence, later brilliantly presented during the trial by the military prosecution and legal representation Adrian Agassi, a former military court judge, proved otherwise. Careful examination and deliberation of that evidence by the judges brought forth the much desired verdict Michael Palmer earnestly fought for approximately 18 months. Month after month, accompanied by many close friends and family, Michael persevered the stressful months of court presences, delays and setbacks, until the justice he diligently sought finally became a reality.
On Tuesday (April 2) 2013, in the Mahane Ofer Military Court, Former Palestinian Authority security officer Wail Al-Araja was convicted of two accounts of first degree murder. This ruling, by all standards, sets a tremendous precedence in today’s courts, as the judicial system until now has not acknowledged a rock to be a murder weapon. All three judges stated that the intent to commit the crime was clear, based on several acts of terror this group had committed previous to the fatal attack, and that the defendants were fully aware of the fact that throwing a rock from a moving vehicle towards another has the capacity to kill, that this was not a spontaneous, single occurrence. The group had been practicing and achieved both accuracy and consistency in their results.
Tuesday’s success, albeit bitter sweet, was a result of the Palmer family’s dogged determination. This resolve included hiring a lawyer to represent their interests, achieving a long awaited goal. Tuesday in court, Michael Palmer, accompanied by friends, family, acquaintances and the press, heard the accused taxi driver, who committed this horrendous crime, receive two convictions of murder. In light of this decision, two consecutive life sentences should be given in a few weeks, estimated Lawyer Adrian Agassi.
No words are able describe the pain and anguish. It is impossible to express in mere words or to understand how those who have lost loved ones in such tragic circumstances must feel. During the process of witnessing the trial procedures in the military courtroom, what captured this writer’s emotion was the determination, love and genuine desire of a father to bring justice that may some day help others.
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By Aryeh Savir
Tazpit News Agency
During one of the bitterest battles fought by the Haganah prior to the establishment of the State of Israel, the final battle for Gush Etzion, 241 Israeli soldiers and civilians were killed. Gush Etzion finally succumbed to the attacks of Jordanian Legionnaires and local Arabs on the fourth of Iyar (May 13th, 1948). 320 men and women were taken into Jordanian captivity, where they were to languish for many months. The next day, on the fifth of Iyar, David Ben Gurion proclaimed Israel’s independence. 19 years later, in the wake of the Six Day War, Gush Etzion was resettled. Many of the new leaders of the Gush were children who were evacuated before the falling of Gush Etzion and were again returning home.
There is detailed archival documentation on all those who heroically gave their lives during these acrimonious clashes, except for one. There is no information on Private Yitzchak Mizrachi, a member of the Haganah, or on family. All that is known is that he served in squad 9 of platoon 6, under the command of the renowned composer Tzvi Ben Yosef.
In 1968, the Haganah veteran organization presented in a special ceremony certificates to the families of the fallen soldiers of Gush Etzion. No one came to receive the certificate given in Private Mizrachi’s name. Until this day, no relative has been tracked down in Israel. This has led those who are involved in the search for information about Private Mizrachi to believe that his family resides abroad.
Based on a list of soldiers stationed at Gush Etzion at the time we know he was 18 when he died. In another list of those who dined at the Kfar Etzion dining room, dated April 18th 1948, we find Yitzchak’s name. His platoon was later re-stationed at the nearby Russian Monastery. A different note, found at the Haganah Museum archives, stated the exact date of his death and where he died. Someone erased the initial place of death because he thought the information was incorrect. His name was also crossed out and corrected to “Manosy”.
The archival material on the fallen soldiers of Gush Etzion is stored at Kfar Etzion, in the Gush. One of the managers, Yaron Rosenthal, who has taken upon himself the task to uncover further information about Private Mizrachi, stated: “We have documentation on every fighter who was killed in Gush Etzion. Only on Yitzchak Mizrachi, who fought bravely, we have nothing, excluding a few bits of evidence that attest to the fact that he actually existed. I call on anyone who knows about him or his family to contact us so that we will be able to bestow upon him and his relatives the proper honors he deserves as someone who gave his life for us all.”
Anyone who has information is asked to please contact Yaron Rosenthal at: yaron@kfar-etzion.co.il
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Preceding stories provided by Tazpit News Agency