Ben-Horin acquitted
Photo: Effie Shrir
Rightist acquitted of incitement charges
Far-right activist who praised Jewish murderer Goldstein not guilty of incitement, judge rules
Far-right activist and the president of "Judea state" Michael Ben-Horin was acquitted Thursday by the Jerusalem Magistrate's court of incitement to violence charges.
Ben-Horin was accused of praising Baruch Goldstein, who murdered 29 Arabs in the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron 14 years ago, in a news story aired on television about six years ago. The judge ruled that freedom of expression overrides Ben-Horin's outrageous remarks.
The charges stemmed from comments made by Ben-Horin during a Purim celebration in Kiryat Arba in 2003. He praised Goldstein on television, among other things declaring: "He is such a great and righteous man…he averted a massacre of Hebron Jews…Baruch Goldstein, there is nobody like you in the world."
Ben-Horin's attorney, Vadim Shuv, said the accused was drunk during the incident and does not recall at all uttering the statements. Moreover, the remarks he made do not constitute incitement to violence and were uttered in the framework of the freedom of expression, attorney Shuv said.
Justice Haim Li-Ran rejected the intoxication argument, ruling that the accused appeared to be carefully listening to the questions and provided clear and coherent answers. However, the judge did accept the freedom of expression argument.
"There is no need to say much about the anger and contempt provoked by the defendant's words," the judge said, but added that his statements "do no limit a person's right to express his views in public."
Justice Li-Ran ruled that Ben-Horin's comments do not constitute substantive incitement that may lead to violence. The judge also warned that limiting such remarks can lead to a slippery slope that would see "statements at the margins of legitimate discourse" banned.
