It's important for Israel to be just. It is equally important for Israel to appear just. Both these goals are essential. Behaving justly adds to the country's moral strength. Appearing just grants it a diplomatic advantage in an age when anti-Semites from inside the state and abroad are hurling abuse in the style of Joint Arab List MK Hanin Zoabi, who draws the inspiration for her propaganda technique from Joseph Goebbels himself and shamelessly attempts to equal Germany in the 1930s. Over the years, these anti-Semites have managed to give Israel a bad name, saying that those responsible for the rule of law are turning a blind eye to Jewish violence against Palestinians and Christian institutions. This is a libelous story based on the fact that, as a law-abiding democratic country, Israel avoided using special measures while investigating its citizens, and that, perhaps here or there in the interrogation rooms, there may have been a few people reluctant to express their determination when facing suspects. These investigators are from the same nation, and occasionally even the same sector of society that expresses a certain understanding when it comes to these types of crimes. The rule of law's ability to handle right-wing criminals, as the nation's heart fills with rage over Palestinian terrorism, has been put to the test since the days of the Jewish Underground terrorist group in the 1980s. Respected law enforcement officers debated between offering absolute protection to the suspects, who were claiming their innocence, refusing to submit their version of events and maintaining their right to silence, and using painful methods against them -- though sometimes there is no choice. There is no doubt that the Shin Bet security agency and the police would prefer to reach the criminals using moderate, restrained means that completely respect the suspects' rights. But reality proves yet again -- in this wave of arrests that began with the arson at a Palestinian home in Duma -- that sometimes, there is no choice but to employ sleep deprivation, to prevent meetings with lawyers and even to push suspects around or restrain them. The interrogators are dealing with a trained group of suspects, who were taught by Hebron resident and extreme right-winger Noam Federman exactly how to deal with Shin Bet interrogations, and they are particularly difficult to crack. Obviously, if they are innocent or it cannot be proven that they committed the crime attributed to them, it's better to set them free than imprison them without proof. But this cannot be done using regular methods, and Israel is paying the price for the use of "moderate physical force" on terror suspects, regardless of the political support they receive from the extreme Right. Still, it is all for the best. The latest group to be arrested, which is also complaining about the conditions of its detention, proves that the rule of law is not deterred by the suspects' political lobby and that the use of extraordinary measures is not reserved for Palestinian terrorists alone. And it is up to the Foreign Ministry to let the world know.
