For those of us of a certain age one of the most memorable symbols in the long struggle for justice for Jews is a glass booth. It is the booth in which Adolf Eichmann was seated, for his own protection, during his trial by the Jewish State for crimes against humanity. We have found ourselves thinking of the glass booth in the wake of the arrest of Marwan Barghouti. A member of the Palestinian legislative council, he is the highest ranking Palestinian Arab arrested thus far in Israel’s war against terrorism, according to the report this week in the Jerusalem Post. The magistrate’s court in Jerusalem issued a warrant in September for Mr. Barghouti, the Jerusalem Post reported, but the Palestinian Authority had refused his extradition. There are those who thought Mr. Barghouti might once have played a useful role in bringing his people toward independence. But he was arrested Monday by Israeli troops who were sweeping through Ramallah and surrendered without putting up a fight.

According to the Jerusalem Post, the warrant for Mr. Barghouti’s arrest indicates he is suspected of being an accomplice to attempted murder, possessing weapons without a permit, and, among other things, military training without permission. The Post says he is considered one of the leading members of Fatah’s Tanzim military wing and is believed by Israel to have planned numerous terrorist attacks against Israel. One of the crimes he is suspected of is aiding the killers of a Greek Orthodox monk who was mistaken for an Orthodox Jew. Prime Minister Sharon has vowed to put Mr. Barghouti on trial. It would be a good thing — a chance to try before the world the facts with regard to the activities of one of Yasser Arafat’s most notorious henchmen. This would take place in the only country in the Middle East where there is a true adversarial due process for those accused of crimes. We have the feeling that the trial of Marwan Barghouti would be an education for all of us, as was the trial of the first man to have sat in the glass booth.