Jewish political prisoner Meir Ettinger was released from Eshel prison on Wednesday morning.
Ettinger, the grandson of Rabbi Meir Kahane’s was arrested without trial, thrown into Eshel prison, and held in solitary confinement for 10 months, after former Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon abused the anachronistic, anti-democratic administrative detention regulations left over from the British Mandate.
But Ettinger, despite no charges ever being filed against him, still isn’t a completely free man.
A few days ago, a new administrative decree was signed by OC Central Command Maj. Gen. Roni Numa, banning Ettinger from Judea and Samaria for a period of one year.
Another decree, signed by GOC Home Front Command Maj. Gen. Yoel Strick, bans Ettinger from Jerusalem and from the community of Yad Binyamin.
In addition, Ettinger must obey a night curfew for the next four months, and he has been banned from contacting a list of 92 acquaintances.
The question now is, will Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman follow in the ousted Ya’alon’s footsteps and sign new administrative detention orders against Ettinger, sending him back to prison without trial, or will Liberman show a little more respect for democracy?
