The Jerusalem Magistrate's Court on Tuesday sentenced extreme right-wing activist Noam Federman to four months of community service, after convicting him of incitement to racism.
Federman was put on trial following remarks he made during a TV show in August 2005: "There are delusional people who say we can live with the Arabs in coexistence. There are delusional people who say I can live together with cancer. What is a good Arab? An Arab who has yet to murder Jews? It's hard to find any of those today."
He also supported late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's murderer: "Yigal Amir's intentions were good, but his act was wrong."
The original indictment filed against Federman included 25 counts of incitement to racism, but he was acquitted of 24 of them and convicted of only one.
During the TV show, Federman also said, "Because I respect them I want to kick them out of here. Those who don't want to be evacuated, we'll bring the soldiers. Instead of expelling Jews from Gush Katif, we'll bring them to expel the Arabs from Umm al-Fahm.
"From this aspect I really like the Arabs' houses. So what will we do with the houses? We'll take their homes. It's all a matter of force and deterrence. In order to bring the messiah there are a few elements which have to be carried out – really expelling the Arabs, but not just that. The Temple Mount… Removing the mosques… The way is to launch a coup here."
Judge Rivka Friedman-Feldman wrote in the sentence that Federman's criminal record must be viewed severely, and that his previous offenses were carried out on a similar, ideological background. On the other hand, the judge noted, the court must take into account that the indictment included 25 counts, and that Federman was only convicted of one of them.
"Federman's remarks are harsh. They include racism and incitement to violence. Such remarks, especially when they are aired on a Television show broadcast to the wide public, are dangerous… Therefore, such acts entail a punishment with a clear and unequivocal message."
After the sentence was read, Federman told Ynet, "The punishment is unworthy disproportional, and I plan to appeal it. The court must have been afraid of the leftists and of being slammed for identifying with the Right."
Federman will carry out his community service at the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem.
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