Israeli Politician Forced to Resign Over Nephew’s Gay Wedding

By Matthew Sneed
Impunity Watch Reporter, The Middle East

Yigal Guetta is forced to resign after revealing he attended a gay wedding for his nephew. Photo courtesy of New York Times. 

JERUSALEM, Israel – On September 13, Yigal Guetta was forced to resign from his seat in the Israeli parliament because he attended the wedding of his gay nephew. The ultra-Orthodox politician is a member of the religious Shas party. However, the event in controversy sparking his resignation occurred two years ago.

On August 29, Mr. Guetta went on Army Radio to promote his daughter’s new single. The goal was to provide a more liberal face to the party and to voters. But he surprised the audience when he said that he had attended the wedding of his gay nephew two years earlier. Prior to attending the wedding, he told his children, “We’re going to make him happy because he’s my sister’s son and I want him to be happy, but I want you to know that according to the Torah this [wedding] is forbidden and an abomination” He also told the radio that he declined to provide a blessing under a huppah, or marriage canopy.

Despite his statement of his personal feelings regarding gay marriage, five rabbis associated with the party wrote a letter demanding the removal of Mr. Guetta from office. As a result of strict-Orthodox control of Jewish weddings, same-sex marriage is not officially recognized in Israel. Some couples circumvent this by getting married abroad. Apart from religious ceremonies, Israel has tried to promote a progressive platform for the LGBT community. The military welcomes members of the gay community and individuals are open about their sexuality in other professions as well, including politics.

The incident has created a debate in the Shas party over whether people should strictly obey Jewish law, or if other traditions should take precedent over the law, including the “sanctity of the family.”

While Mr. Guetta has not addressed the public, sources have said that he refused to apologize for his attendance of the wedding and he wanted to step down before he was asked by party leaders.

Yair Lapid, the leader of the secular Yesh Atid party tweeted, “It’s sad that in Israel in 2017 a [Member of the Knesset] is forced to resign because he participated in the wedding of two people who love each other.”

For more information please see:

BBC News – Ultra-Orthodox Israeli MP quits amid gay wedding criticism – 13, September 2017

Newsweek – RELIGION IN ISRAEL: POLITICIAN WHO WENT TO GAY WEDDING FORCED TO RESIGN – 13, September 2017

The New York Times – Israeli Orthodox Lawmaker in Trouble Over Gay Nephew’s Wedding – 14, September 2017

Silent Protest Erupts in Singapore after Uncontested Presidential Election

By: Brian Kim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia 

SINGAPORE – Thousands of Singaporeans held a silent protest on September 16th to express their discontent with the recent uncontested presidential election. Mostly dressed in black, the protest started with a crowd of about 200 people but grew to around 2,000 people.

Former presidential candidate Tan Cheng Bock attends the silent protest at Hong Lim Park. Photo courtesy of Yahoo.

Two former presidential candidates, Tan Cheong Bock and Tan Jee Say, both attended the protest. On Facebook, Tan Cheng Bock wrote: “It is not President Halimah as a person that Singaporeans are unhappy about. It is about the way our government has conducted this whole walkover presidential election.”

In order to unite the country, Singapore had decreed that the presidency would be reserved for candidates from the minority Malay community. In Singapore, the presidency is viewed as a ceremonial six-year post.

There were five total applications for the presidency, but two were not Malays and two did not meet other requirements to be considered for the position. Halimah Yacob, a former speaker of parliament, was selected as the country’s first female president. She had automatically qualified as she held a senior public post for over three years. Halimah was declared elected as soon as the nomination period closed on Wednesday, September 13th.

Gilbert Goh, one of the main organizers, stated that the protest was silent as the organization needed a special permit from the police if speeches made during the protest touch on race and religion.

In Singapore, displays of dissent are very unusual. As one of the richest and most political stable countries in the world, political protests are rare.

The People’s Action Party (PAP) has been ruling the country since 1965. The current prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong’s father, Lee Kuan Yew, is considered as the country’s founding father.

For more information, please see:

Channel News Asia – Silent protest held at Hong Lim Park against reserved presidential election – 16 September, 2017

Yahoo – Hundreds turn up at Hong Lim Park for silent protest against reserved presidential election – 16 September, 2017

Reuters – Singaporeans protest against uncontested presidential election – 16 September, 2017

Modern Slavery Ring Dispelled With Conviction of Eleven Family Members in UK

By Jenilyn Brhel
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

LINCOLNSHIRE, England – A family of eleven has been sentenced to a total of approximately 80 years in prison for administering a modern slavery ring on their property for decades.

Victims Were Forced to Live in Horrendous Conditions. Photo Courtesy of BBC.

For 26 years, the Rooney family, who ran a driveway resurfacing company, targeted vulnerable men on the streets and in shelters in Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, and London, promising them money, accommodations and food in exchange for work. Many of the victims, whose ages ranged from 18 to 63, were homeless, had mental disabilities or drug and alcohol problems.

When the men arrived to the worksite, they were forced to live in small caravans without running water, plumbing or heat.

In addition to the dilapidated conditions, the men worked seven days a week, from dawn to dusk, in all kinds of weather. They were fed poorly or sometimes not at all. They were also subjected to beatings and denied medical care for their injuries and illnesses. One man, whose captivity spanned 25 years, was forced to dig his own grave.

“Your victims had reached a position where they were cowed into submission. Any resistance, they knew, was futile. It would have been met by you recruiting other family members and delivering more violence,” Judge Thomas Spencer told the Rooney family.

While the men they abused lived in squalid conditions, the family lived extravagantly, driving expensive cars and taking lavish vacations. Judge Spencer, who sentenced the family, called the abuses “akin to the gulf between medieval royalty and the peasantry.”

The Director of Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary’s fraud investigation unit, Simon York, said: “This was a truly appalling case. These people lived a life of luxury by exploiting and abusing highly vulnerable individuals. They stripped them of their humanity, forcing them to live and work in terrible conditions.”

Judge Spencer also warned that abuse of this kind could be happening nationwide on a “shocking scale.”

Detectives said last month that the number of victims of modern slavery and human trafficking in the United Kingdom is currently estimated to be in the tens of thousands.

There are currently over 300 policing operations in the United Kingdom working to identify and prosecute cases of modern slavery.

“The severity of these crimes is underlined by the sentences imposed by the judge, Chief Superintendent Chris Davison, Head of Crime for Lincolnshire Police, said of the case. “The victims will never get the years back that were taken away from them, but I hope this provides them with some comfort that justice has been served and demonstrates that we will do everything in our power to try and stop others suffering in the ways that they did.”

For more information, please see:

BBC – Rooney Traveller Family Jailed for Modern Slavery Offences – 12 September 2017

The Guardian – 11 Family Members in Lincolnshire Jailed in ‘Chilling Slavery Case’ – 12 September 2017

The Guardian – Modern Slavery at UK Traveller Site may be tip of Iceberg, Warns Judge – 13 – September 2017

Independent – Rooney Family Behind Modern Slavery Ring in Lincolnshire Jailed for Total of 79 Years –  12 September 2017

Independent – Slaves on our Streets: Why London is a Global hub for Modern Slavery 13 September 2017

The Irish Times – 11 Members of Traveller Family Jailed in UK Slavery Case – 12 September 2017

Metro – Millionaire Family who Kept 18 Homeless men as Slaves Jailed for 80 Years – 13 September 2017

Bombing at London underground station leaves city defiant, not deflated

By: Sara Adams
Impunity Watch News Reporter, Europe

The London tube station where an IED went off, minutes after the attack. Image courtesy of BBC Broadcast.

LONDON, United Kingdom – Twelve years ago, a bomb went off in the London Underground subway system, killing 52 people and leaving others injured.

On September 15th, 2017, a bomber targeted the London underground. It is the first attack on the London transit system since the one in 2005.

This time, 29 were injured, but no one died.

Still, Prime Minister Theresa May raised the terror threat level for the United Kingdom to “critical”.

The police have arrested one suspect, an 18-year-old, after a raid on the suspect’s house in Surrey. While it is unclear whether the suspect was affiliated with any international terror organization, terror group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (“ISIS” or “Daesh”) have taken responsibility for the attack.

But the police have urged people to avoid “pure speculation,” after U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted a suggestion that the Scotland Yard knew about the attack before it was to happen.

Prime Minister May also called Mr. Trump’s statement “unhelpful”.

Police continue to release limited information regarding the arrest and the continued investigation.

Despite the terror threat level set at “critical”, people in the city continued about their business in the wake of the attack. Londoners went to work, tourists gathered outside of Buckingham Palace to snag photos, and the only underground station closed was the Parsons Green one, where the bomb was detonated.

In an editorial for the London-based newspaper The Guardian, the writers suggest that this “lack of excitement” for this attack may be what the country needs.

“The terrorists want to rouse terror and the kind of anger which quenches reason,” they write. “it’s important and we should continue to keep our heads over what is by any reasonable standard a pinprick attack.”

In its title, the editorial aptly suggested that Londoners “keep calm and carry on”. This phrase comes from a motivational poster produced by the British government to boost the morale of the public during World War II, while Great Britain was a constant target of air strikes by the Axis powers.

London mayor Sadiq Khan also urged citizens to not be intimidated by the threat of terror.

“[We] condemn the hideous individuals who attempt to used terror to harm us and destroy our way of life,” he stated.

“As London has proven again and again, we will never be intimidated or defeated by terrorism.”

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Parsons Green: Armed police search house over Tube bombing – 16 September 2017

CNN – London Tube attack latest: Arrest made as terror threat raised to ‘critical’ – 16 September 2017

The Guardian – Parsons Green bombing: police arrest man and raid Surrey house – 16 September 2017

The New York Times – ‘Bucket Bomb’ Strikes London’s Vulnerable Underground – 15 September 2017

The Guardian – The Guardian view on the London tube bomb: keep calm and carry on – 15 September 2017

BBC News – 7 July London bombings: What happened that day? – 3 July 2015