BlogAlert: Israeli backpacker needs YOUR help!

David Bogner of Treppenwitz has posted an important alert: a young Israeli backpacker has been arrested in India for possession of a pistol magazine, which had been left in the duffel bag she borrowed from her brother. While we Israelis are quite careful about firearms, we are traditionally much less scrupulous about ammunition; as Dave reports and I can attest from personal experience, it’s quite normal for bullets to be scattered on the floor (and in the trunk) of our cars, cluttering up our bookcases, and even to be played with by our cats once they’ve run out of dead scorpions.

One could argue that the young woman in question made a pretty dumb mistake in not checking her brother’s bag more carefully before packing her stuff in it and taking off for foreign climes. But nobody was hurt or even endangered, and the heavy prison sentence she faces seems out of all proportion to her error. Please go read Dave’s article, and add your voice to those trying to get Noa home.