To Adv. Yehuda Weinstein - Attorney General

Dear Sir

We hereby ask you to launch a criminal investigation of the extreme-right organization known as "Lehava" ["Flame"], whose activities raise grave suspicions of incitement to racism and other criminal activities - which, in our humble opinion, merit and necessitate such an investigation.

As reported extensively in the media, Lehava opened an "Informers' Hotline" whereby people are invited to call. Those contacting this "Hotline" at number 052-2258183 hear a recorded message stating: "Please leave details about those intending to sell or rent housing to Arabs, we will verify the information and take action to prevent the disaster".

A Lehava militant identifying himself as "Benzi" told the Ma'ariv-NRG news website that his organization intends to publish extensively the personal details of such property owners, in advertisements and stickers put up in the streets as well as by other means, in order to pressure them to break the sale or rent contract.

The above raises a grave suspicion that the organization's activities constitute blatant racist incitement, as well of employing tactics which constitute blackmail and extortion by threats.

In addition to this "Informers' Hotline" which gained much public attention, it should be noted that "Lehava" is already for several years conducting activities with the proclaimed aim of "preventing assimilation", i.e. breaking up personal relationships and marriages between Jewish and Arab partners. On a website called "Jewish Voice", members of Lehava spoke of conducting "informational and educational activities aimed at solving this problem", and the context makes if highly likely that this "educational activity" has a manifestly racist content – i.e. to instill the idea that a relationship with an Arab, as such, is a wrong and forbidden act.

The article was accompanied by a photo taken at a shop in the Jerusalem neighborhood of "Givat Shaul" with the caption "An Arab makes advances to a Daughter of Israel". Published in this context, there is a manifesr danger that this wording might lead viewers of the website to act violently against the young Arab whose face was clearly visible in the photo, or against other Arabs in similar circumstances.

In the same article, members of Lehava also refer to their maintaining connections with security forces in the West Bank, to the extent that Lehava is able to manipulate army and police units to implement their organization's aims. They refer to a specific case where Lehava got the Army to send a unit to the town of Yatta in the South Hebron Hills in order to detain an Arab inhabitant and his Jewish wife, under pretext of "a security arrest". Lehava claims to have initiated this action because "the woman contacted them and asked to be saved". However, when reaching the police and asked to file a complaint against her husband, the woman refused and simply told the investigators that she wanted to go back to her home in Yatta.

This story, published by the Lehava militants themselves at their own initiative, raises serious questions about the extent of the organization's ties with the police and army and its ability to manipulate their operations for its own purposes – an issue which clearly requires a comprehensive investigation.

It also raises many questions about Lehava's claim to act only in order to help women mistreated by Arab spouses. Rather; their aim seems to be to intervene and try to break up any relationship between Jewish and Arab partners and spouses, regardless of the couple's own wishes in the matter. Moreover, it seems that in order to achieve this manifestly racist aim, they do not scruple to resort to threats and intimidation. This, too, clearly warrants a full, thorough and immediate investigation.

Sincerely Yours

Uri Avnery and Adam Keller On behalf of Gush Shalom