Hundreds of students from The Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway, The Shalhevet High School for Girls and the Rambam Mesivta for boys  all located in Long Island, New York, signed petitions to affirm the ruling of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Bureau of Immigration Appeals (BIA) that the notorious Nazi war criminal, John Demjanjuk, be deported from the United States to Germany. Demjanjuk, who is known as Ivan the Terrible for his role in the Holocaust, entered the United States illegally and fraudulently obtained citizenship, claiming that he was a displaced person during World War II. The special status of a “displaced person” was reserved for those who suffered under the hand of a brutal Nazi regime and henchmen-such as Demjanjuk.

The petition was addressed to the chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, the Honorable Judge Danny J. Boggs and arrived  at the courthouse on Thurs April 23. The text of the petition states:

“We are the students and teachers of Machon HaTorah, an amalgam of three Jewish parochial high schools in Long Island, New York. We believe, however, that we speak for a much larger constituency-indeed, thousands of Americans of all faiths-who support the efforts of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and the  Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) to deport John Demjanjuk to Germany to stand trial for crimes against humanity.

“Demjanjuk is one of the most notorious Nazi war criminals alive today whose whereabouts are known to western law enforcement agencies and is subject to their jurisdiction. Deporting him to Germany, even at this point in his life, would send a powerful message to Osama Bin Laden and the other monsters who still roam this world that the passage of time and their claims of physical frailties will offer them no sanctuary and justice will ultimately prevail. It would set a standard for justice to be followed by other freedom-loving nations of the world. It would demonstrate the great value that America places on human life and dignity, even for those whose faces are unseen, whose names are not recorded and whose gravesites are unknown. It would further honor the sacrifices made by the men and women of America’s fighting forces in World War II and today to rid the world of ideologies of racism and hatred.

“The decision by the DOJ and BIA to deport Demjanjuk was a brave and important one. We urge the Court not to overturn the existing deportation order, and to allow Demjanjuk to face his accusers.”

According to Rabbi Zev Friedman, who coordinated the petition, “many of our students have been following the case and were shocked to learn that there was going to be yet another delay. They all feel that the notion that a cruel and heartless murderer of 29,000 people should ask for mercy is the height of shameless audacity.”

“Imagine if Osama bin Laden was captured hiding in a cave 30 years from now and his family claimed that he was too old and frail to stand trial in the United States!!! I don’t believe that we as a country would indulge this travesty of justice. Bin Laden was the mastermind behind the deaths of approximately 4,000 people; Demjanjuk is responsible for the murder of seven times that amount. He should be allowed to stand trial and justice should be served.”

(YWN Desk – YWN)