ntd Israel

2012-09-25

Printed by permission of NTD News which also had a video version of the story.

The Isreali Supreme Court orders the Bodies Exhibit to close by October 9th in a ruling that calls the exhibit a violation of human dignity.The bodies exhibition has been taking place in Tel Aviv, Israel since May 21st, and according to its organizers, China is the origin of its bodies. Human rights protesters have opposed it from the beginning, claiming that the bodies were not donated.

On Sunday, the Israeli Supreme Court in a ruling ordered the exhibit to close no later than October 9th.

The Judges wrote:"There is no disagreement that the kind of conduct we see in front of us violates human dignity, including the dignity of the dead."

In Sunday"s evening, Israelis gathered in front of the exhibition in Tel Aviv to protest and express their disappointment in the court"s decision.

The protesters had been demanding the exhibit be closed immediately and that the source of the bodies be investigated.

Amongst them was Israeli Parliament member Dr. Michael Ben Ari.

[Dr. Michael Ben Ari, Member of Israeli Parliament]:

"Unfortunately, the high court in Israel, in the state of Israel, in the State of the Jewish people, badly disappointed by trying to make a decision that would be acceptable to everyone. They closed it just few days before its original ending date. It should say clearly: This Exhibition is an abomination. These bodies have to be buried respectfully and eliminate this terrible phenomenon, trading people, trading bodies as we can see here."

The bodies come from Premier Exhibitions, a U.S. based company that for its New York show posted a disclaimer saying the exhibit displays human remains that were originally received by the Chinese bureau of police, and may originally be from Chinese prisons.

Moshe Feiglin, the head of "Jewish Leadership" movement has participated in Human Rights events in Israel for many years, particularly those related to China. Here is what he had to say our reporter in Tel Aviv.

[Moshe Feiglin, Head of "Jewish Leadership"]:

"In this case human beings that were created according to God"s image, are being treated like a piece of meat in the market. It is not surprising at all that these people--those miserable ones that are presented here--came from a communist country, an atheistic country. If there is no God, then there is no image of God. Personally I have no doubt that they, or at least some of them, were also murdered for the sake of this exhibition, or at least there is a strong suspicion that this is the case, or at least there is a great fear that this is the case. And trying to hide behind the certificates from the communist regime in China that these people donated their bodies for this horror, is cynical and ridiculous." ?

The concern is that the bodies may be executed prisoners, which may include prisoners of conscience.

Israeli Lawyer David Schonberg who had applied to the high court, commented on the ruling in an email to NTD, saying, "The Court"s decision is a real victory, even though I would like to see the exhibition being closed today."

[Dr. Michael Ben Ari, Member of Israeli Parliament]:

"Its important to us to say that the human being is a special creation, we"re not talking about a cat or an ant--and you should respect their dignity as well--let alone human dignity. And when you take human beings and present them in an exhibition as items in an exhibition, it is actually a horror that has no other precedent. And it is even worse when there is a great suspicion that these people were murdered, and brought here against their will, and there are even people who will make money out of it."

The exhibit that was to originally close on October 21st will now close around 2 weeks earlier.

The three Judges wrote in their ruling:

"We order the closure of the exhibition not later then October 9th, 2012. No further extension of the exhibition will be allowed. We assume that everything needful will be done, including by the customs authorities, in order to not let this same situation happen again."

The Exhibition"s Public Relations Officer, Ms. Sinaya Mizrachi said the court"s ruling to let exhibition run until 9th October is a sign that freedom of speech is protected in Israel.

Still, the protesters hope that the court"s decision will set a precedent and stop the exhibition from ever coming again to Israel, and will prevent it from being held in other countries as well.

NTD News, Israel Read original story.