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9/25/08
Ha'aretz: "Flier offering NIS 1M for killing Peace Now member found at site of attack on professor"
By Shahar Ilan and Roni Singer-Heruti, Haaretz Correspondent, and Haaretz Service
Jerusalem police on Thursday said they found fliers offering more than NIS 1 million to anyone who kills members of Peace Now. The fliers were found at the site of a pipe bomb attack at the home of Professor Ze'ev Sternhell, an Israel Prize laureate and Haaretz columnist.
Investigators searching for evidence outside the home of the professor who was lightly wounded in the attack suspected to have been carried out by far-rightists say a number of such pamphlets were found outside the home and in adjacent streets.
The small pipe bomb exploded on Thursday at around 1:00 A.M. at the entrance to Sternhell's home. The professor was lightly wounded by the blast and taken to Shaarei Tzedek Hospital in Jerusalem for treatment.
In the wake of the attack and the discovery of the fliers, police have beefed up security around the home of Peace Now secretary-general Yariv Oppenheimer.
Police sources told Israel Radio on Thursday that signs increasingly point to extreme right-wing elements who may have been responsible for planting the explosive that wounded Sternhell.
Senior political figures expressed outrage at the news of the attack on Sternhell, which has touched a nerve given the country's sensitive history of politically-oriented violence. In November 1995, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated in Tel Aviv by a right-wing extremist opposed to his peace policies.
"We are returning to the dark spectacle of pipe bombs that are aimed at people, in this case against a very gifted person who never shies away from expressing his opinion," Defense Minister Ehud Barak said.
"We won't let any elements, from any dark corner of Israeli society, to harass people who let their clear, lucide, unique voices like that of Ze'ev Sternhell be heard," Barak said.
"The attack on Professor Sternhell is a cowardly, terrorist act of those with no sense of justice," the chairman of the Knesset's internal affairs committee, Labor MK Ophir Pines-Paz, said.
"I call on the police and the Shin Bet security service to make every effort to locate the perpetrators quickly and to make sure that they be put under lock and key for many years."
"They better not talk to us about a few bad weeds," Meretz chairman Haim Oron said. "These phenomena spring up on the right-wing [of the political spectrum]."
"This thuggish and dangerous act is the result of the continuing see-no-evil approach toward the vicious violence against soldiers and police officers and anyone else who doesn't agree with the brutish section of the extreme right wing," Oron said.
Sternhell frequently writes for Haaretz and was awarded the Israel Prize in political science in February 2008.
Recently, Sternhell has received threatening phone calls. Police assess that the background for the attempt to harm Professor Sternhell is politically motivated. They suspect that right-wing activists carried out the attack in response to his remarks decrying Israeli settlers.
Five months ago, the High Court of Justice deferred a petition by the Legal Forum for the State of Israel against the decision to award the Israel Prize in political science to Sternhell.
The petition condemned Education Minister Yuli Tamir and the judicial committee who awarded Sternhell the prize. Sternhell, the petition claimed, was not deserving of the prize because of his remarks in the media, specifically an article he wrote in Haaretz which justified an attack by Palestinians on settlers.
YNET: "Jerusalem: Professor Ze'ev Sternhell lightly wounded by pipe bomb"
Police believe motive behind attack on renowned political scientist was 'ideological;' Peace Now condemn law
enforcement authorities' lenient hand with settler groups, warn extreme Right 'a threat to democracy'
Efrat Weiss
Prominent Israeli historian Professor Ze'ev Sternhell was lightly wounded in the early hours of the morning on Thursday after a pipe bomb went off outside his front door on Shai Agnon St. in Jerusalem. The explosion occurred as Sternhell was locking the outer gate of his home at around 1:00 am, he sustained minor injuries to his legs and was evacuated to the Shaare Zedek Hospital for treatment. Police were alerted to the scene.
The 73-year-old Sternhell is a professor of political science at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
For some time Sternhell had been receiving threats over the telephone that were reported as being ideologically motivated. Police forensic teams are searching the area around the professor's home for evidence, believing the bombing to be tied to the threats. No suspects have been arrested thus far.
Professor Sternhell received the Israel Prize this year, in recognition of his work in the field of political science. "I criticize that which needs to be criticized, to tell the truth even when it is unpleasant. That to me is the definition of what a good researcher is," he said at the awards ceremony.
Police worried Peace Now a target
Fliers were found in the streets near Sternhell's home promising a reward of 1.1 million shekels to anyone who
kills a member of Peace Now. 'The time has come for a halachic state in Judea and Samaria! The time has come for
the Kingdom of Judea!' called the fliers.
Police have assigned Peace Now Secretary-General Yariv Oppenheimer with security detail following the attack on Professor Ze'ev Sternhell.
"The extremist Right poses an existential danger to Israeli democracy," Oppenheimer said early Thursday morning following the attack.
"Law enforcement authorities must abandon their lenient policy when it comes to law-breakers from within the settler community and their supports before we see another politically-motivated murder in Israel," said Oppenheimer. "He who doesn't enforce the law on violent settlers in the territories will find himself with a Jewish terror organization in the heart of Israel."
'We won't allow this'
Defense Minister Ehud Barak addressed the attack at Thursday's Labor meeting. "We are returning to the sinister phenomenon of using bombs against people, in this case against a very capable man who has never been afraid to voice his opinion, because his position, which is the peace camp's position, is that of a liberal voice, a democratic voice, a sane voice amidst the incitement," he said.
"We will not allow anyone, from any dank corner of Israeli society, to persecute anyone else," said Barak.
Meretz chairman, MK Haim Oron, wished Sternhell a speedy recovery and added: "This thuggish, dangerous act is the result of closing our eyes to the violence against soldiers, police officers and all those who disagree with the thugs of the extremist Right."
Oron called on Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter to spare no effort in hunting down the perpetrators. "Don't talk to us about fringe groups, this is a growing phenomenon in the Right and the state must take care of it," said Oron.
"The attempt to hurt Professor Sternhell is the result of the lenient attitude and weakness of the law enforcement agencies towards the extremist Right," charged MK Zahava Gal-On (Meretz) following the attack.
The National Jewish Front organization declined to criticize the attack. "We're not connected to the incident and do not operate that way, but having said that, we will not condemn it. Sternhell legitimized attacks against settlers," the group said.
MK Otniel Schneller (Kadima) said the persons behind the attack were dangerous criminals that should be tried for their actions, but also added: "This attempt to take advantage of difficult events to polarize the public is extremely dangerous. Those who automatically blame the extreme Right are stirring up discord."
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ISRAEL ARMY RADIO NEWS REPORT
* Sternhell attack: The police and the GSS have set up a joint team to investigate the circumstances of the attack on Israel Prize laureate Prof. Zeev Sternhell. Last night, near his house, leaflets were found calling to attack left wing activists physically. The leaflets offer a reward of NIS 1.1 million for anyone who murders someone affiliated with Peace Now.
Sternhell sustained light injuries when a pipe bomb exploded that had been placed at the entrance to his house. He was harshly criticized in the past by the right wing for his position against any Israeli construction in Judea and Samaria.
* Guards for Peace Now secretary: In wake of the incident, police guards were placed last night near Peace Now Secretary General Yariv Oppenheimer's house. Oppenheimer charged right wing organizations of creating an atmosphere of violence and incitement: "This past year we have a sense that the radicalization on the other side is growing, as is their hate, as well as their audacity. Whoever committed this loathsome act yesterday is someone who had the courage to do it. Someone who sprays hate graffiti on our offices evidently has audacity."
* Sternhell attack condemned: There was condemnation across the political spectrum against the attack on Zeev Sternhell. Chairman of the Interior Committee, MK Ophir Pines, called an urgent meeting of the committee. He said this was a cowardly act of terror by wicked people who deserved long years of imprisonment.
Meretz Chairman Haim Oron said that strict punishment must be meted out to those who placed the bomb, after the police find them. Mk Zvulun Orlev of the NRP also denounced the incident and told Army Radio: "This was a heinous act that deserves condemnation and denunciation. A cultural discourse can be held in a more moderate and balanced way to dispel the tension in Israeli society
Ma'ariv: "Prof. Zeev Sternhell Lightly Wounded by Pipe Bomb at His House"
by Ami Ben-David - Israel Prize laureate for political science research for 2008 Prof. Zeev Sternhell, 73, was injured lightly in his legs last night after a pipe bomb blew up at the double door of his house on Agnon Street in Jerusalem. The Jerusalem police have launched an investigation, and suspect that this was an attempted attack by the radical right wing.
The blast took place as Sternhell tried to lock the door of his house. He was taken to be treated at Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem.
Peace Now Secretary General Yariv Oppenheimer said in response that the radical right wing was an existential threat to Israeli democracy. He said, "the law enforcement agencies must stop their lenient policy toward lawbreakers among settlers and their supporters before there is another political murder in Israel. Those who don't enforce the law on violent settlers in the territories will find themselves facing a Jewish terror organization in the heart of the State of Israel."
When the announcement was made in February that Sternhell had won the Israel Prize, right wing circles petitioned the High Court of Justice against the decision. In April the court rejected the petition from the Legal Forum for the Land of Israel and Professors for Political and Economic Fortitude.
The judges rejected the petitioner's argument that the Israel Prize should reflect the Israeli consensus and that "someone who permits the blood of Israeli citizens to flow does not deserve it," based on an article that Sternhell wrote for the Ha'aretz newspaper in which he said that the Palestinian battle was legitimate and it would be smarter for the battle to focus against the settlers. [.] Judge Arbel said that the award committee was aware of Prof. Sternhell's controversial views but believed that these views had their place in the public discourse and that they were uttered with a sense of commitment and affiliation to the state and to Israeli society.