UN High Commission for Human Rights Begins Informal Inquiry into Anatot Pogrom

Thanks to reporting here and the eyewitness testimony of Stavit Sinai which I translated (she was sexually assaulted during the recent Anatot pogrom), a human rights officer of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has begun an informal inquiry into the violence that occured there.  He will be interviewing witnesses and gathering evidence that may be used to make the world aware of what happened there.

Unfortunately, in cases such as this there is no way to get Israeli authorities to investigate the wild hooliganism of its citizens who are de facto acting on behalf of the interests of the state.  Sometimes, unwelcome attention from a respected international body or outside pressure is the only tool that gets Israel to observe the rule of law.

Assaf Sharon, leader of Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity movement was interviewed by Robert Wright of Bloggingheads.tv about the riot as well.  It’s a bit elementary and repetitive for those who know the incident well.  But it’s terrific that a more mainstream media outlet is putting this video up at the NY Times website.  And the interview does add some information I didn’t know, for example that Assaf’s nose was broken in the melee.  Unfortunately, Wright doesn’t appear to use Tikun Olam as a source and doesn’t link to any of my reporting (though he does link to 972 Magazine, which reported on it as well), despite the fact that I’ve tried to bring my work to his attention and and that of Blogginheads.tv editors a number of times.