Israel Matzav

That explains it

At a family gathering on Tuesday night, my 11-year old son (son # 3, child # 6) asked me if it was true that the largest demonstration ever held in this country was a demonstration held by Haredim (ultra-Orthodox) against anti-religious rulings by Israel's Supreme Court. I told him that it was true, and that the demonstration was held in 1999, a few months before he was born. I was there, along with about 600,000 other people.

But it's not just Haredim who don't like Israel's Supreme Court. The Court is a self-perpetuating institution in which dissent from the hard-Left Meretz-like line of thinking is not tolerated. Dissenters are screened out by a selection process that places power in the hands of the current judges.

But here are some terms in which I never thought of the court. Rabbi Dr. Haim Shain says that the reason that the Supreme Court did not stop the expulsion of Gaza's Jews in 2005 is because the Court views Israel as a state of all its citizens, while most Israelis view it as a Jewish state.

Let's go to the videotape.



Arutz Sheva provides some background:

The session opened with an address by Shir Lev Ran, a teen who was expelled from his home in Gush Katif. He spoke of how difficult it was for him and his friends to cope with the expulsion. Lev Ran burst into tears during his talk as he recalled the emotional experience of being expelled from his home.

Deputy Finance Minister, Yitzhak Cohen, noted during the session: “The greatest fear is that such a thing could happen again. All the legal systems in Israel worked together to commit this crime. Even when illegal things took place during the disengagement, the Supreme Court went along with the government.”

Yes, let's not fool ourselves. It could happen again.

Labels: Israel is a Jewish state, Supreme Court

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:57 AM