Shimon Peres
Photo: Gil Yohanan
Danny Katz
Bereaved parents to Peres: Don't let Danny Katz's killers walk free
'We do not seek revenge, nor do we hate. We are law-abiding people who believe in the law, but from time to time our wounds are reopened,' parents tell president in letter. 'One of these days a request will be submitted to reduce the sentence of Yigal Amir - what will you say then?'
A group of bereaved parents pleaded on Wednesday with President Shimon Peres to go back on his decision to make the murderers of 15-year-old Danny Katz eligible for parole.
Uproar
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"Even though it had been said that 'Not even Satan has created a revenge for the killing of a small child' (Bialik, Upon the Slaughter), we do not seek revenge, nor do we hate. We are law-abiding people who believe in the law, but from time to time our wounds are reopened and the pain hits as hard as it did that first day," wrote the parents to Peres.
Yossi Tzur, whose son Assaf was killed in an attack on a bus in Haifa in 2003, told Ynet "we heard of the decision on the news, and it greatly upset us. All along our position has been that the war on terror must be consistent and persistent, but this (Peres' decision) is an act that is simply devoid of logic or purpose."
Ofer Shtier, who lost his 10-year-old son Assaf in the terror attack at the Maxim restaurant in Haifa in October, 2003, said "the president of Israel must not let the murderers of children – regardless of religion, nationality or faith – to be released from prison.
"We did not believe that Peres, who we support, would make such a mistake," he said.
"Danny Katz, a 15-year-old boy, was innocently walking through his neighborhood in Haifa when he was kidnapped and his skull was smashed with stones. Those despicable murderers are alive today, because the law does not permit the execution of vile murderers."
The parents added in the letter: "We do not understand what good you think will come out of this decision. If it would result in the release of an IDF soldier then we could understand it, but just like this? Why? Why?"
The parent concluded by writing, "One of these days a request will be submitted to reduce the sentence of Yitzhak Rabin's killer, Yigal Amir. What will you say then? This is the law. The sentences of murderers are reduced; is this not so?"
