Court delays decision on Emmanuel mothers
22 mothers who refused arrest get two more days at home as High Court decides to postpone hearing until Tuesday. Judges also order attorney general to check whether criticisms sounded against them by public officials were criminal
Haredi mothers from Emmanuel to stay at home, at least for now. The High Court judges on Sunday decided to delay the imprisonment of the 22 mothers and hold a session on the matter on Tuesday.
They also criticized various public officials who spoke against the court on the case and ordered the attorney general to investigate whether some of them had committed crimes in doing so.
Justices Edmund Levy, Edna Arbel, and Hanan Meltzer referred the attorney general to article 255 of the Israeli Penal Law, which deals with contempt of the court.
The law sentences anyone who writes or says something about a judge with the intention of harming his status or undermining his judgment to three years in prison. However, the law qualifies this by saying that "honest and courteous criticism" of a judge on a matter of public concern is not an infraction.
Regarding the mothers the judges wrote, "The parents were well aware of the decision that was made, and despite the many opportunities they were given to obey it without coercion they tried in different ways to thwart it."
On Thursday, the 22 mothers violated a High Court order and did not report to the prison to serve a two-week prison term for refusing to adhere to a ruling regarding their daughters' schooling.
Since then, the parents' representatives have been working to prevent the women's imprisonment and filed an urgent petition to the High Court in the matter, due to "special circumstances. Each woman has her own reasons."
The women's representatives argued that some of the women were in early stages of pregnancy, breastfeeding and taking care of many children. They submitted classified documents, some of which were received from the welfare services.
Sources from the Slonim stream, whose members have refused to revoke the separation in the Beit Yaakov school in Emmanuel as ordered by the High Court of Justice, said on Friday that several of the woman collapsed "from the emotional pressure that comes with imprisonment."
Following consultations held with some of the women and their husbands it was decided that not all the mothers would show up to serve their sentences. It was then decided to turn to the courts.
Meanwhile, hundreds of haredim gathered outside Maasiyahu Prison in Ramla Saturday night in a show of support of the parents currently jailed there.
They said prayers and sang songs to boost the parents' refusal to send their daughters to a school without separation between Sephardim and Ashkenazim.
Outside the prison, a meal was held Saturday night, Hassidic music was played, and rabbis gave speeches.
