AMI POPPER AND EQUALITY

Last week, the convicted terrorist Ami Popper was involved in a fatal car crash resulting in the deaths of his wife and child. In 1990,Popper was convicted for massacring a group of Arab workers at a roadside junction near Rishon-LeZion. Prior to murdering his victims he made sure that none of them were Jewish by checking their i.d. cards and then proceeded to gun them down in cold blood. He received a couple of life sentences for his crimes. Since being imprisoned Popper has been allowed out on short leaves from prison on countless occasions. The reaction to the tragic accident centred on whether prisoners (particularly long term ones) should be allowed to drive whilst out of prison - the contention being that their driving skills would naturally have become very rusty from being incarcerated for so long. Not surprisingly,few questioned the right of such a murderer to be allowed out on leave. Even fewer questioned the inequality between Jewish and Palestinian convicted murderers. It is impossible to imagine a Palestinian convicted murderer being released on short leave as Popper was. So what if he is a model prisoner - it is just as conceivable that Palestinian murderers are also model prisoners - does this justify them being given furloughs? For Israel to live up to its principles of equality either all prisoners should be allowed the chance of receiving leave or none at all.