About two months ago, a shocking case of rape occurred in a public park in the center of Jerusalem, according to the indictment, Muhammad Tawil, a resident of the eastern part of Israel's capital city who was employed by the municipality, locked a young Jewish woman in a bathroom stall in the complex and repeatedly raped her.
Due to the seriousness of the offense, the District Court in Jerusalem ordered the extension of his remand to detention until the end of the proceedings, but Tawil appealed and today Israeli Supreme Court Justice Khaled Kabub ruled that the probation service should be required to draw up a memorandum for him, which means examining options for releasing him from detention. In his reasons, Kebab, the first Muslim ever to sit on Israel’s Supreme Court wrote that "this is not a defendant for whom there are indications that he cannot be trusted, and he should be relieved due to the fact that it appears that he committed his actions without the use of significant physical violence."
Dozens protest after Arab justice says rape was 'without significant violence’. Khaled Kabub, a Supreme Court justice, declared that a rapist acted "without significant violence." In the incident in question, an Arab had raped a Jewish woman. https://t.co/uSYvpwF5eJ
— Sharon K. Gilbert (@sharonkgilbert) April 21, 2023
The ruling and Judge Kabub's reasoning were met with outrage by those who heard the story as rape in and of itself is significant physical violence. Israel's mainstream media did not cover the event, only a few fringe outlets reported on the progression of the case and the ruling of the Supreme Court Justice. On Twitter, a popular account entitled 'Real Palestinian' (@shim_rational) Tweeted "If you don't think Israel requires urgent judicial reforms, consider the following case:" The influencer then explained the case and closed her missive, saying "(a)fter hearing both sides, a Muslim Supreme Court Judge, Haled Kabub, determined that consideration should be given to other, out-of-jail alternatives, justifying his decision by stating that the man did not use "considerable violence" against the woman. The question is: Would you want this "judge" to be a Supreme Court judge in YOUR country?"
I think it should be a universal rule that rape is in itself considerable violence - even if the woman was not beaten unconscious.
— Jay Engelmayer (@jengelmayer) May 1, 2023
And the penalty should be castration - the hard, slow, & painful way.
The judge who said he did not use 'considerable violence' should be tossed.
Justice Kabub was appointed in 2022 to serve as the first Muslim judge on the Supreme Court by Justice Minister Gideon Sa'ar during the Bennett-Lapid coalition and this is not his first controversial ruling. Kabub is consistently opposed to the demolition of terrorists' homes; only a week ago he wrote a minority opinion in the ruling regarding the demolition of the house of the terrorist who murdered Aryeh Shopchek and Tedsa Tschuma in the car ramming attack last November, but his opinion was rejected and the house was destroyed.
Another case related to Arab terrorism concerns Sheikh Yosuf Elbaz, the inciting Sheikh from Lod, who was accused of inciting violence during the violent 2021 rioting. Elbaz was arrested and appealed to the Supreme Court, the case reached Kabub, who decided to release him to house arrest under the claim that "time has passed and the spirits have calmed down."
Kabub’s son, lawyer Walid Kabub, also participated in incitement during the rioting and the arrest of the Sheikh with a Tweet he posted: "We will fill the angry streets with demonstrations, we will fill the prisons with innocents and we will become children and represent the real young people.”
2/4 de l'Association du barreau, pour des choses qu'il a écrites sur Facebook pendant l'opération Gardiens du Mur.
— 0404Informations (@0Informations) December 28, 2021
Pendant les émeutes de 2021 et l'opération Gardiens du Mur, l'avocat Kabuv a écrit sur son compte Facebook :
As mentioned, Justice Kabub was appointed by the previous government when some members of the committee for selecting judges opposed his appointment due to the fact that he met with Muslim public figures who supported terrorism. The controversial judgments of Kabub, continue to cause a stir and adds further justification to those in favor of the proposed judicial reform, not because of Kabub’s Muslim faith, but his record of partisan voting and alleged sympathy towards those who wish the State of Israel harm.
