EILAT - Attorney General Menachem Mazuz plans to take a relatively lenient stance with regard to anti-disengagement protesters.
Israeli society, he says, is strong enough to withstand such challenges without striking a blow to freedom of speech.
"The more a society learns to give its angry and alienated segments freedom to object, the greater the chance we've to lower their motivation to voice their feelings in stronger ways," Mazuz told a lawyers convention in Eilat.
Not a sign of weakness
Mazuz added that the guarded use of criminal indictments was not a sign of weakness on the part of Israeli society or law enforcement officials, and said that although criminal indictments might be the "easy way" to deal with protesters, they are "inappropriate in most cases."
"Again and again, law enforcement agencies must direct police regarding red lines. We have to decide which protest signs are legal (despite being offensive), and which cross those lines. We must be very careful when pressing charges."
He also said law enforcement bodies must contend with speech crimes such as incitement, calls to refuse military service, and said these things require more than narrow judicial judgement.
"We must consider whether we are fanning or lowering the flames," he said.
Objective
According to the attorney general, we must work to protect the public image of law enforcement agencies as objective bodies.
"In a political-social struggle, the judicial system must take extra care not to get dragged into a political fight," he said.
