Hello,
There was an intriguing discussion in the past regarding legal representation for enemies of the Jewish people when Nazi war criminal John Demjanjuk was tried in Israel.
The late Judge Tzvi Tal was a district court judge in the case, which unanimously sentenced Demjanjuk to death. He was the one who read the verdict.
On appeal to the Supreme Court, Demjanjuk was acquitted due to doubts regarding his identification. His defense attorney was the Israeli lawyer Yoram Sheftel.
Years later, Judge Tal visited Orot Shaul Yeshiva, where students asked him how he felt about the case.
He elaborated on why he was convinced that the identification was entirely accurate and that the Supreme Court had erred in its ruling. However, one particularly interesting point was his attitude toward the judges who ultimately acquitted Demjanjuk.
Watch Judge Tzvi Tal’s remarks here:
All the best,
Rabbi Yuval Cherlow
Rabbi Cherlow is Head of the Ethics Department at the Tzohar Rabbinical Organization
