Categories: Op-Eds

Why is Meir Ettinger in Prison?

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February 8, 2016, 10 AM ET

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Dear Minister of Defense: I am not personally familiar with Meir Ettinger’s beliefs or writings. I only know what I have read here and there in the media, and I have no way of knowing if these reports are true or not. Therefore, I would like to ask you – why is he in prison?

If Meir Ettinger is in administrative detention (a pleasant-sounding expression for imprisonment without trial) because he is ideologically opposed to the State of Israel, then Abu Mazzan, and other heads of the Palestinian Authority should be in administrative detention as well, along with several Arab members of the Knesset.
If Meir Ettinger is in administrative detention because he believes that the current form of the State of Israel should be destroyed, then Abu Mazzan, and other heads of the Palestinian Authority should be in administrative detention as well, along with several Arab members of the Knesset.
If Meir Ettinger is in administrative detention because he believes that violence against Tzahal is justifiable, then Abu Mazzan, and other heads of the Palestinian Authority should be in administrative detention as well, along with several Arab members of the Knesset.
If Meir Ettinger is in administrative detention because he thinks that terrorism is justifiable, then Abu Mazzan, and other heads of the Palestinian Authority should be in administrative detention as well, along with several Arab members of the Knesset.
If Meir Ettinger is in administrative detention because he thinks that it is proper to incite his followers against the State of Israel, then AbuMazzan, and other heads of the Palestinian Authority should be in administrative detention as well, along with several Arab members of the Knesset.
If Meir Ettinger is in administrative detention because he rejects the policies and laws of the government of Israel, then Abu Mazzan, and other heads of the Palestinian Authority should be in administrative detention as well, along with several Arab members of the Knesset.
If Meir Ettinger is in administrative detention because he believes that violence is a justifiable means of achieving one’s aims, then Abu Mazzan, and other heads of the Palestinian Authority should be in administrative detention as well, along with several Arab members of the Knesset.
If Meir Ettinger is in administrative detention because he is the leader of a group who acts against the laws of the State of Israel, then Abu Mazzan, and other heads of the Palestinian Authority should be in administrative detention as well, along with several Arab members of the Knesset.

The point should be clear. Why is Meir Ettinger being held in administrative detention, when Abu Mazzan, and other heads of the Palestinian Authority, along with several Arab members of the Knesset, are completely free? The Prime Minister of Israel, Benyamin Netanyahu, repeatedly accuses Abu Mazzan, and other heads of the Palestinian Authority, along with several Arab members of the Knesset, of incitement against Israel that leads to terrorism and the murder of Israelis. As Minister of Defense, how do you allow Abu Mazzan, and other heads of the Palestinian Authority, along with several Arab members of the Knesset, to remain free? Why is Meir Ettinger in administrative detention, while they come and go as they please? Is the reason because Meir Ettinger is a Jew? Is there a law that applies to Jews and not to Arabs? Or is it merely easier to put a Jewish youth into prison than to imprison Abu Mazzan and the other ideological leaders of the current terrorist uprising, a bloodthirsty uprising which they encourage and condone? Why, Mr. Defense Minister, do you allow their incitement, and the murder of Jews, to continue when you could put them in prison, just as you have put Meir Ettinger into prison, without a trial, and without detailing the charges against him? Why, Mr. Defense Minister, do you defend the people of Israel against the beliefs of Meir Ettinger and not defend them against the beliefs and actions of Arab terrorists and their leaders? Abu Mazzan has committed far greater crimes against Israel than Meir Ettinger. Why the double standard? If you have put Meir Ettinger to put an end to the actions of hilltop youth and “Tag Machir” – then put Abu Mazzan, and other heads of the Palestinian Authority, along with several Arab members of the Knesset, into prison, and thus put an end to their incitement and to the murder of Jews which follows in its wake. If not now, Mr. Defense Minister – when?