Let's be crystal clear about what's happening here: Israel's security service is treating a media advisor like he's Osama bin Laden. The Shin Bet's treatment of Eli Feldstein has crossed from questionable into downright dystopian.
Think about this: A man whose alleged crime is leaking documents to newspapers is being held in conditions so severe that he's stated he'd prefer death. Let that sink in. Not a terrorist. Not a mass murderer. A former government spokesperson who may have been overzealous in doing what government spokespeople often do - getting information to the press.
The details are chilling. Handcuffs. Blindfolds. Fifteen kilos of weight loss. A "convenient" discovery of a noose in his cell, leading to suicide watch - a development that reads more like intimidation than concern for his wellbeing. And now, in what the Shin Bet presumably wants us to see as merciful, they're "allowing" his family to hug him - but heaven forbid they discuss his case.
This isn't security; it's theater of the absurd. The Shin Bet, supposedly defending Israel's democracy, is instead providing a masterclass in how to undermine it. When a security agency treats the leaking of documents (to allied nations' newspapers, no less) as if it were a crime worthy of conditions usually reserved for Hamas commanders, we've entered dangerous territory.
The comparison to the Dreyfus Affair isn't hyperbole anymore. Just as the French military establishment once needed a convenient scapegoat, it seems our security establishment needs its own show trial. And just like then, the suffering inflicted on one man has become a stark reminder of how institutions can lose their moral compass.
Today's "generous" concession of allowing family contact - with Orwellian restrictions on conversation topics - only underscores how far we've strayed from reasonable law enforcement into the realm of state intimidation. This isn't about security anymore; it's about power, control, and making an example of someone who may have embarrassed the wrong people.
The real threat to Israel's security isn't Feldstein's alleged leaks - it's the spectacle of a democratic state's institutions behaving like they're running a black site. Every day this continues, every new humiliation inflicted on Feldstein, every draconian restriction placed on his basic human rights, serves as a stain on Israel's claim to be a nation of laws rather than force.
When a man says death would be preferable to his detention conditions, we're no longer in the realm of justice - we're in the territory of state-sanctioned cruelty. And for what? Documents that allegedly exposed the truth about Hamas's intentions regarding hostage negotiations? The Shin Bet's treatment of Feldstein isn't just disproportionate - it's a disgrace to the very democratic values it claims to protect.
It's time to call this what it is: a vengeful overreach by an agency that's forgotten its purpose is to protect democracy, not undermine it. The Shin Bet needs to be reined in before more damage is done - not just to Feldstein, but to Israel's reputation as a democratic state governed by law rather than fear.
The treatment of Feldstein isn't just wrong - it's a warning sign of what happens when security services are allowed to operate unchecked. And if we stay silent now, who will speak up when they come for the next person who inconveniences the powerful?
Today, the very 'kind' the Shin Bet decided to grant Feldstein the privilege of physically meeting and embracing his family, as long as they don't talk about the legal proceedings.
"I am strong - you don't know how much," Feldstein told his parents at the start of the hearing, a particularly poignant moment given reports that he has lost approximately 15 kilos (33 pounds) while in custody and was recently placed on suicide watch after a noose was allegedly discovered in his cell.
How long will this madness last? Israel has had more than enough of it.
