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October 4, 2002/Tishri 28 5763, Vol. 55, No. 6
Becoming society's witness
BARRY COHEN
Editor
While President George W. Bush was meeting with Republican Party supporters in Phoenix Civic Plaza on Sept. 27, horse-mounted police and Department of Public Safety officers in riot gear were arresting demonstrators outside.
At issue is not that seven protestors were arrested, but how they were arrested.
According to a witness, police and DPS officers acted without being provoked by the demonstrators.
And according to this witness, police pinned one protestor to the asphalt and carried another "hog-tied" with his hands behind his back.
Based upon the testimony of this witness, the Arizona Civil Liberties Union has called city, county and state officials to review the incident to prevent a repeat of the violent arrest of peaceful protestors.
This witness was AzCLU Executive Director Eleanor Eisenberg, who attended the event not as a demonstrator but as a legal observer.
The 61-year-old Eisenberg, standing 5 feet 4 inches, was also one of the seven arrested, charged in Phoenix Municipal Court with resisting and obstructing police. Frank Valenzuela, spokesman for the Department of Public Safety, said Eisenberg refused to vacate a corner designated by the Secret Service as a "safe zone."
At a recent press conference, Eisenberg explained that when she crossed the street to get a better view of the arrests, the police yelled at her to get out of the street. When she obeyed and reached the sidewalk, they arrested her.
According to Steve Lee, general counsel of the AzCLU, police deprived the demonstrators of liberties guaranteed by the First Amendment, including the freedom of assembly.
Eisenberg's witnessing what transpired will hopefully guarantee that police will not accost future peaceful demonstrators.
Eisenberg, who earned a law degree in California, exemplified Jewish law that Sept. 27 evening.
"Do not separate yourself from the community," teaches Mishnah tractate, Pirke Avot. Eisenberg joined a community of protestors as a witness.
By moving closer to witness the violent arrests, she also expressed the Talmudic teaching: Whoever has the ability to prevent his fellow citizens from committing a sin and does not, he is accountable for his fellow citizens. (Shabbat 54b)
We can apply these halachic teachings to society to promote justice and righteousness. These ideals transcend AzCLU identification and political party affiliation.
Eisenberg's efforts to become a witness will hopefully help prevent the reenactment of local police violently confronting peaceful protestors.
At the press conference, she commented on the student protestors: "There were two 16-year-old boys, and all I could think of was what a civics lesson they were getting."
Eisenberg has provided a lesson for us all about what we must do to protect our constitutional rights and to ensure that justice and righteousness prevail.
Contact the writer at barry_cohen@jewishaz.com.
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