Enforce the rule of law

The horrific murders and atrocities that took place in Jerusalem and Duma this month proved, to those who still needed evidence, that there are a significant number of Jews do not consider themselves to be completely subject to the rule of law.

If we value life, the state must enforce its authority firmly and relentlessly to create a situation in which the concept of "fear of the law" is tangible. This goal must be achieved by any means necessary.

The current situation can be fixed, but this will require all governmental bodies -- the Knesset, the cabinet and the courts -- to come to their senses.

The only way to prevent Yishai Schlissel, the abhorrent murderer of Shira Banki, from endangering the participants of future gay pride parades is for the courts to sentence him to maximum consecutive, not concurrent, prison sentences for the murder and multiple acts of attempted murder he committed.

This is in the hands of the judicial system. Its duty to prevent the next murder should be manifested by a harsh sentence that does not take into consideration any requests for leniency by the defendant's lawyers.

The late Judge Eitan Magen, who was a friend of mine, used to criticize the practice of other judges who provided elaborate explanations on the severity of a crime only to counteract them with expressions such as "having said that ..." or "however ..." followed by an exaggerated consideration of the defendant's motives to lessen his or her sentence.

Likewise, tough justice must be dealt to the criminals who torched the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes. More than setting the church alight, their main goal was to harm Israel's foreign relations. The prosecution must find the relevant sections in the penal code and add them to the indictment. The judges, for their part, must treat this case with added severity.

Regarding activist Daniella Weiss, who belittled President Reuven Rivlin on Channel 1 when she said, "[Rivlin] is not important enough to kill," the State Attorney's Office must immediately file charges against her for insulting a symbol of national sovereignty.

Furthermore, the police must find out immediately who the public figures whom Weiss deems "important enough" to kill are.

As a rule, the state must indict all those who violate laws such as Article 136 of the penal code, which prohibits sedition and characterizes it as the following: the sowing of hatred, contempt or disloyalty to the state and the rule of law; the incitement or provocation of residents of the state to undermine the laws of the state; the promotion of discontent or resentment among the residents of the state; and the stoking of dissension and hostility among different parts of the population.

I am writing this as a rightist, and I am not the only one. Much to my content, former Yesha Council chief Pinchas Wallerstein has voiced similar views on television. If criminals ever succeed in knocking down the framework of our state, then nothing will be left to unite us, and our enemies will be able to carry out, God forbid, their plan to destroy Israel.

Therefore, this struggle cannot be about Right vs. Left, or Jews vs. non-Jews. This is a just fight, and we must not be defeated. We have sat idly by for far too long, and it is time to wield the power that the law grants to state institutions.

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