The following news comes from Compass Direct. Please read the full story here.
JERUSALEM, May 31 (CDN) — A Messianic Jewish congregation leader whose son was almost killed by a bomb planted by an ultra-right wing Jew said he feels like the Israeli criminal justice system has abandoned him.
On Monday (May 28), the Jerusalem District Court approved a plea agreement for the man accused of bombing pastor David Ortiz’s home, Jack Teitel, without consulting Ortiz or his attorneys, Ortiz said. The plea agreement is unique in that the court said Teitel committed the acts, but it did not hold him responsible for committing them.
Ortiz, leader of the Congregation of Ariel, said the prosecutor’s office has also consistently misled his attorneys about basic information on important court filings for the case. Teitel has multiple charges against him for several acts of violence, including two killings, but prosecutors in Ortiz’s case have sidelined or deliberately avoided him, Ortiz said. The Ortiz family opposes any plea bargain.
“They are doing it without any kind of consultation with us,” Ortiz said. “The victims are either supposed to either OK it or reject it. They can’t just make a plea bargain without consulting the victims. They are trying to ignore us.”
The prosecutor that is supposed to be protecting Ortiz’s interests is neglecting his duty, he added.
“He doesn’t want to be seen protecting Christians,” Ortiz said. “It doesn’t benefit him in society.”
