Khaberni - In an article published by Haaretz, leftist writer Gideon Levy blasted what he describes as the duplicity of the Israeli justice system, asserting that Arabs in Israel are prejudged, while Jews enjoy actual immunity even in cases of public murders.
The article paints a grim picture of a "racist" justice system that virtually rules Israel, where Arabs are treated as guilty even before investigations are complete, while Jews, especially settlers, experience a leniency that amounts to almost complete impunity.
Levy bases his argument on an incident in occupied Jerusalem, where an Arab bus driver was accused of attempting to murder a group of boys. He points out that the police immediately charged him with premeditated murder, only to retract the charge later.
The writer sharply criticizes the inciting statements of ministers, led by the Minister of Culture Miki Zohar, who appointed themselves as judges and issued a premeditated murder verdict before the investigation had even begun.
Levy explains the harsh conditions faced by Arab workers, who endure daily humiliation and racism at their workplaces, noting that the driver was in a state of panic and called the police for help, to no avail.
He contrasts the swift accusation of an Arab driver with the systematic slowness in prosecuting settlers who have killed Palestinians on camera, where months pass without issuing indictments against them, and often the cases are closed without any accountability.
Levy argues that what is happening is not a minor fault but evidence of a fully-fledged apartheid system based on two different legal systems: civil for Jews and military for Palestinians.
He asserts that this duplicity is the clearest proof that Israel is moving rapidly towards entrenching a reality of racial discrimination (apartheid).
He concludes that what happened to the bus driver is not an exception, but a model for what has become the rule: "In Israel, an Arab is accused until proven innocent, if he is allowed to prove it at all."
