Israel Supreme Court approves Gaza pullout plan News
Israel Supreme Court approves Gaza pullout plan

[JURIST] Israel's Supreme Court [official website] ruled Thursday that the government's plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip [JURIST news archive] and four West Bank settlements does not violate settlers' rights. Judges voted 10-1 [Jerusalem Post report] in favor of the Disengagement Implementation Law [Israel Foreign Ministry backgrounder on disengagement plan], noting that the lands in question are not within Israel's borders and not within their jurisdiction. The court, however, did reject four provisions [Haaretz report] of the law's compensation package for settlers, and ordered the Knesset [official site] to rework them. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Accused Nazi war criminal, John Demjanjuk, put on trial in Israel

On February 16, 1987, accused Nazi war criminal, John Demjanjuk, went on trial in Jerusalem, Israel. The prosecution claimed that Demjanjuk was a notorious prison guard known as "Ivan the Terrible" at the Treblinka extermination camp during World War II. On this basis, Demjanjuk was convicted by the Israeli court of crimes against humanity. However, in August 1993, the conviction was overturned by Israel's Supreme Court on a finding of reasonable doubt. After the decision by the Supreme Court of Israel, Demjanjuk was returned to the United States, where he had been moved after World War II. On December 22, 2006, the US Board of Immigration Appeals ordered him deported to Ukraine on a finding that he had been a guard at other Nazi concentration camps.

American anarchist arrested for advocating birth control

On February 16, 1916, feminist and anarchist Emma Goldman was arrested in New York City for advocating birth control. Learn more about Emma Goldman and her defense of reproductive rights from the University of California, Berkeley.