Why were we so shocked by the incident of the assassination of the soul of the late Ephraim Bracha?
Because when the head of the fraud investigation unit collapses, that's where the cedars fell. That's where the flame fell. And the flames rise and burn us all.
What was he afraid of? Perhaps the method, which he knew well, of torture and interrogations that lasted for years?
On the other hand, if he was not afraid to tell his superiors about an alleged bribe offer, and to incriminate a great and important rabbi without fear, then it seems that he did not accept a bribe, since, as is known, he who has butter on his head does not go out into the sun. On the other hand, there is no smoke without fire, right? So maybe there is something to the accusations that have been spread against him after all?
Maybe he feared forces stronger than him, and maybe he was also fabricating a case against him, so that even he, the first of the investigators, would not be able to handle the fabrication of evidence against him?
So what? Will we demand that journalists stop investigating? And who will help the little citizen?
Will we rein in the police? It's clear that we can't do without them.
So, where does the line lie between a legitimate matter that requires attention, and the involvement of a police investigation if necessary, and even the existence of a legal process - and that required restraint?
Treat an abscess properly
It is usually customary to say, after death, that the martyrs should be declared. However, it seems that this case requires, for both sides, and especially for the public, an (independent) investigation of the affair. Everyone needs to receive answers. All the various systems, including the police, the prosecutor's office, the journalists, and above all the public.
If a process of cleaning out the stables has begun, we should not stop here. Stopping will paralyze everyone and in the next case, fear will prevent the truth from being revealed. If this abscess is not treated properly, then the damage that will be done is very great.
It is appropriate and proper to conduct a home inspection, to see how the snowball rolled until it became a bomb.
It is not at all certain that it was the fear of the investigations that led to the results of the terrible act, but rather the rumors surrounding it. For example, he was a leper and completely guilty.
The phenomenon of public shaming of a person before his guilt has been proven must stop. The investigation process must also be accelerated, and it must be determined that the length of time in which a person is required to stand trial until the end of the trial must be extremely short. Not a torture trial that lasts for years. One that harms any sane person, causing the accused to waste enormous resources required to conduct the procedure, both financial and mental.
Not to mention the crisis in the relationship, the shame in front of the children, the environment, which we will never experience, God forbid.
The Sages said: "Do not judge your friend until you have reached his place." This case symbolizes the extreme of cases. It is impossible to understand how a strong man, who was entrusted with many investigations, suddenly has his life thrown against him, he turns from investigator to interrogated, and he is powerless to save him.
Just like in the Middle Ages
The presumption of innocence, which is a guiding principle in law, and certainly according to halacha, states that one must investigate thoroughly before casting suspicion and blaming another person.
This issue seems to have been forgotten in this period. Today, every person with a phone and a camera is a reporter, and so reports and rumors run quickly through the various non-social networks. This is how living and healthy people wake up one bright day and discover that they have died under such and such circumstances. It is not amusing. It is no longer a curiosity. Others, who may, God forbid, have done something foolish in a foolish moment, pay an unbearable price for it, forever.
In today's reality, there is no place for a person who stumbles to repent. He will forever bear the shame of the guilty. The trial in the town square, the Internet and social networks, just like in the Middle Ages, has decreed his fate, for the tribe.
It seems that if everyone thinks again before spreading the juicy slander they have received, we might be able to save the next weak person, and not cause actual bloodshed. We have seen with our own eyes how stories have become reality and no one has bothered to quickly check what really happened.
It is with a heavy heart that I write the following lines, but perhaps this is the lesson that should be learned from this tragic case: The police, who knew how to conduct high-profile arrests of public figures and leak information from interrogation rooms before the accused himself had time to understand what was happening and defend himself accordingly, this time caused the police, as a body, to fall into a pit they dug for others, and their own weapons were turned against them.
This case deserves a lesson from him: It is absolutely forbidden to cause public shaming before the matter has been fully investigated. Even in cases where a person is required to be interrogated, deadlines for the start and end of the investigation and trial must be set.
Too many cases have occurred following suspicions of investigation and judicial proceedings that have dragged on excessively, leading to cases of suicide by RACH.
With all the sadness that in this case, maybe, just maybe, paradoxically, in his death, Ephraim Bracha commanded life. The prevention of the next death. It's in our hands. Stop the shipment of the poison.
• The writer is a lawyer specializing in torts. The above does not constitute any advice, and in any case of damages, defamation, etc., a lawyer should be consulted in order to fully comply with your rights.
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