Fearing arrest, IDF officer cancels studies in U.K.

[Scurrilous]

<snip>

"The commander of the Israel Defense Forces division on the Gaza border, Brigadier General Aviv Kochavi, was forced to cancel his planned trip to the United Kingdom after the Military Advocacy instructed that he refrain from commencing studies at the Royal College of Defense Studies this summer, fearing that he would be arrested on charges of war crimes.

During the implementation of the disengagement from Gaza and in the months preceding it, Kochavi served as the commander of IDF forces in the Strip. He was the last soldier to leave the Gaza Strip, and he closed the gate behind him. During Operation Defensive Shield, in 2002, he was deployed as a senior commander in the paratroopers. During the operation, some 52 Palestinians and 23 IDF soldiers were killed in Jenin.

Consultations on Kochavi were held recently in the State Prosecution's international department, as well as in the Military Advocacy.

Military Advocate General Brigadier-General Avichai Mendelblit instructed Kochavi to abandon plans to study at the RCDS, in light of an arrest warrant issued some six months ago against former GOC Southern Command Doron Almog."


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[ret5hd]

1. pay attention, georgie...

this may be your future, too...or maybe more like the nazis that fled to argentina: endless days under an assumed name waiting for that fateful knock on the door.

[tatertop]

2. Commander of the IDF is a wanted war criminal in the U.K.!

He just better go the U.K. and straighten this matter out
like a man.

[Tom Joad]

3. It is unlikely that this man will ever see justice. It is a small

consolation, however, that he felt he had to change his plans.

[Englander]

4. Well, it's a start.

That the idf miltary command have realised that they have a case to answer, & that
some overseas trips need to be booked with the aid of a lawyer. I mean, if Aviv Kochavi
&tc, are innocent of these charges, then what are they worried about? If these
idf officers who could be charged with war crimes, or involvement in war crimes, have
nothing to worry about, then why are they behaving like fugitives from justice, &
avoiding visiting certain countries?

'>snip

Senior military officials seemed concerned by recent developments surrounding Kochavi, saying similar scenarios are likely in additional countries in western Europe, including France and Spain. According to the officials, Mendelblit may recommend that senior officers who served during the intifada not visit these countries.'

[eyl]

5. I'm sorry?

would you so blithely agree to stand trial in another country for serious crimes, whether you were innocent or guilty, if you had a choice otherwise? Or is the English judicial system miraculously free of miscarriages of justice? (not to mention expending the court fees)

[Englander]

6. They were rhetorical questions.

Clearly they struck a nerve, perhaps you could consider the possibility that senior
idf officers behaving like fugitives from justice isn't the best thing for the GoI
if they want to shake off that 'pariah state' label. Why is it, do you think that
Mendelblit has given this instruction, do Kochavi, &tc, have a case to answer?

[Scurrilous]

7. Top IDF brass outraged by officer's U.K. travel ban

<snip>

"Senior Israel Defense Forces officers are outraged over the army's decision to prevent one of their number from traveling to Britain for fear he might be arrested as a war criminal, charging that leading Hamas terrorists now enjoy more freedom of movement than IDF officers.

On the advice of the military advocate general, Avihai Mandelblit, the IDF decided to bar Brigadier General Aviv Kochavi, the commander of the Gaza Division, from taking courses at Britain's Royal College of Defence Studies, lest left-wing activists seek an arrest order against him.

In September, former GOC Southern Command Doron Almog was forced to return to Israel from London without even getting off the plane after left-wing activists succeeded in obtaining such an order against him.

But the decision on Kochavi, first published in Haaretz on Sunday, sent shock waves through the army's high command, because it indicated that Almog's experience was not a one-time event.

The government has promised to try to deal with the problem, and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni did raise it at meetings on Thursday with British officials. However, it seems unlikely Israel will manage to find a solution in the near future."

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[Englander]

8. The list of countries has grown, since yesterday;

'Both the Defense Ministry and the Chief of Staff's office also said they are trying to solve Kochavi's problem via talks with the British army and government.

Nevertheless, it seems unlikely Israel will be able to persuade either Britain or other European countries with similar laws, such as Spain, France, Sweden and Denmark, to amend them.'

[Jim Sagle]

9. Jew-hating, hypocritical sonofabitchery is alive and well in England.

[Englander]

10. With friends like these.....

'Alan Dershowitz volunteers to defend IDF officers abroad
By Amiram Barkat

The American Jewish attorney Alan Dershowitz has volunteered to defend any Israeli officer who faces legal proceedings abroad, on condition that his actions were in keeping with Israeli government policy.

It is "a shame that officers have to hide like criminals and are afraid to visit democratic countries, only because they carried out the policies of their elected government," Dershowitz told Haaretz in a phone call from Brussels.

Dershowitz was refering to the recent threat by leftist organizations in the United Kingdom to seek the prosecution for war crimes of Gaza Brigade commander Brigadier General Aviv Kokhavi, a threat which led him to cancel his planned studies there.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/691676.html