Israel
Looking back to 2016: “Israel’s Supreme Court strives to find right balance between security needs, civil rights”
Introduction: In the June 8, 2016 issue of The Jewish Post & News Myron Love reported on an event that had been held at Congregation Etz Chayim that May. The event was a presentation by an emissary of the World Zionist Organization by the name of Rotem Malach about the important – and balanced role, Israel’s Supreme Court had played in that country to that point. The article also delved into a documentary film about the tenure of Aharon Barak as President of the Supreme Court for an 11-year period, from 1995-2006. Barak is now held up as an example of a too activist, too liberal judge by those who would seek to emasculate Israel’s Supreme Court and turn it into nothing more than a handmaiden of Israel’s Knesset.
We thought it timely to republish that article, especially since Israel’s Supreme Court has been the subject of withering criticism by many right-wingers in that country.
Here is that article:
By MYRON LOVE
It is a real challenge in a democratic society in our current age of terrorism to find the right balance between civil liberties and the needs of security. In Israel, which has been living under the threat of terrorism throughout the country’s entire existence, there is an added layer to deal with in finding that balance between religious and civil law.
For Israel’s Supreme Court, finding that mean is akin to walking a tightrope – which happens to have been the theme for a presentation – on Thursday, May 19, at Congregation Etz Chayim – by one Rotem Malach. Currently based in San Francisco, Malach is the central emissary of the World Zionist Organization’s Department of Diaspora Activities for North American. His stopover in Winnipeg was part of a cross Canada tour to raise awareness of the role of Israel’s Supreme Court in “defending and shaping the Jewish and democratic identity of the State of Israel”.
The central part of Malach’s presentation was a showing of the documentary film, “The Judge”, which focuses on the life and career of Aharon Barak, who served on the Supreme Court for almost 30 years and served as President of the Court from 1995 to 2006. Barak’s interview during the film was also the only interview that he ever gave.
But first, some preliminaries. Malach noted that the court is staffed by 15 judges (although individual cases are judged by smaller groupings of judges). Judges in Israel are not political appointees, he said. The following are qualified to be appointed Justice of the Supreme Court: a person who has held office as a judge of a District Court for a period of five years, or has taught law at a university. Supreme Court Justices are appointed by a Judicial Selection Committee composed of nine members – including three sitting Supreme Court Justices (including the President of the Supreme Court), two cabinet min- isters (one of them being the Minister of Justice), two other Knesset members, and two representatives of the Israel Bar Association. The committee is chaired by the Minister of Justice.
As Malach pointed out, political persuasion (left or right wing, Conservative or (left or right wing, Conservative or Liberal, religious or secular, Jewish or Arab) plays no role in the selection. Current Supreme Court members include four women (one of whom is president) and one Christian Arab.
In the documentary, Aharon Barak comes across as a man of great courage and high principle who was focused on find- ing the right balance for the good of Israeli society. A child Holocaust survivor (he was hidden by a family in Lithuania), he first came to prominence in 1977 when, as Israel’s attorney-general, he prosecuted Leah Rabin for having an American bank account (which was illegal in Israel at that time) and forced Prime Minister Itzhak Rabin to resign.
As he noted in the interview, that case showed that no one in Israel is above the law.
At the Camp David accords, he was the primary Israeli negotiator in the negotiations that led to the Israel-Egypt peace treaty.
As a member of the Supreme Court and President of the court, he was involved in a number of controversial decisions, one example of which was ruling in 1996 that a certain main road in Jerusalem should be kept open on Shabbat outside of hours of prayer. That decision brought an estimated 400,000 Haredim on to the streets of Jerusalem surrounding the Supreme Court building to protest the decision.
Among other rulings during his tenure were that Israeli soldiers were not allowed to place Palestinian civilians in danger by having Palestinians knock on doors of houses that IDF soldiers were about to raid, and that the separation barrier (dividing Israel proper and Israeli communities across the Green Line from the Palestinian territories) is legal (with some minor modifications).
Following the film, Malach led his audience through a sheet with a series of statements about what is and isn’t legal in Israel. The answers were often surprising. For example, gay marriage, interfaith marriages and civil marriages are all legally recognized in Israel. The catch is that the marriages have to be performed outside of Israel because the rabbinate doesn’t recognize them.
Similarly, Reform and Conservative conversions are recognized in Israel despite the refusal of the Orthodox Rabbinate to recognize such conversions.
The sale of pork is also legal in Israel in certain areas.
“The values of human rights have a supreme legal status in the State of Israel,” Malach summed up, “and the Supreme Court of Israel is one of the strongest and most active courts in the world when it comes to protecting human rights.”
Israel
Join the Masa Canadian Professionals Volunteers Program!
You are invited on a 4-week volunteer program in Israel from October 14th to November 10th. Help rebuild Israeli society post-October 7th over Canadian Thanksgiving, Sukkot, and Simchat Torah. Spend three weeks based in Tel Aviv and one week based in Eilat!
This program is exclusively for Jewish professionals aged 22-50, working at Jewish organizations or remotely in any field.
The cost of the program is $150 USD to the organizer and $50 USD to Masa. Participants will receive a Masa grant of $2650 USD that is applied to participation and to cover additional costs. The cost of the program includes housing, meals while volunteering, transportation on travel days, health insurance, leadership training, and more. Volunteers are required to commit to the volunteer schedule, with the understanding that there will be the flexibility to work remotely for 8 specific days during the program. Flights are not included but you get a 15% discount from El Al.
Sign up here: https://www.masaisrael.org/go/canada-jp/ space is limited!
Don’t miss this unique opportunity to make a difference and connect with fellow professionals. For more information, contact Mahla Finkleman, National Manager of Partnerships and Outreach, Masa Canada, atmfinkleman@ujafed.org and/or Sam Goodman, Senior Manager of Israel Engagement, sgoodman@ujafed.org.
Save the Dates for Info Sessions:
- Thursday, September 5th, 12:00 – 12:30 EST
- Wednesday, September 11th, 12:00 – 12:30 EST
Join us in Israel for a meaningful and impactful experience with Masa!
weeks based in Tel Aviv and one week based in Eilat!
This program is exclusively for Jewish professionals aged 22-50, working at Jewish organizations or remotely in any field.
The cost of the program is $150 USD to the organizer and $50 USD to Masa. Participants will receive a Masa grant of $2650 USD that is applied to participation and to cover additional costs. The cost of the program includes housing, meals while volunteering, transportation on travel days, health insurance, leadership training, and more. Volunteers are required to commit to the volunteer schedule, with the understanding that there will be the flexibility to work remotely for 8 specific days during the program. Flights are not included but you get a 15% discount from El Al.
Sign up here: https://www.masaisrael.org/go/canada-jp/ space is limited!
Don’t miss this unique opportunity to make a difference and connect with fellow professionals. For more information, contact Mahla Finkleman, National Manager of Partnerships and Outreach, Masa Canada, atmfinkleman@ujafed.org and/or Sam Goodman, Senior Manager of Israel Engagement, sgoodman@ujafed.org.
Save the Dates for Info Sessions:
- Thursday, September 5th, 12:00 – 12:30 EST
- Wednesday, September 11th, 12:00 – 12:30 EST
Join us in Israel for a meaningful and impactful experience with Masa!
Features
New website for Israelis interested in moving to Canada
By BERNIE BELLAN (May 21, 2024) A new website, titled “Orvrim to Canada” (https://www.ovrimtocanada.com/ovrim-en) has been receiving hundreds of thousands of visits, according to Michal Harel, operator of the website.
In an email sent to jewishpostandnews.ca Michal explained the reasons for her having started the website:
“In response to the October 7th events, a group of friends and I, all Israeli-Canadian immigrants, came together to launch a new website supporting Israelis relocating to Canada. “Our website, https://www.ovrimtocanada.com/, offers a comprehensive platform featuring:
- Step-by-step guides for starting the immigration process
- Settlement support and guidance
- Community connections and networking opportunities
- Business relocation assistance and expert advice
- Personal blog sharing immigrants’ experiences and insights
“With over 200,000 visitors and media coverage from prominent Israeli TV channels and newspapers, our website has already made a significant impact in many lives.”
A quick look at the website shows that it contains a wealth of information, almost all in Hebrew, but with an English version that gives an overview of what the website is all about.
The English version also contains a link to a Jerusalem Post story, published this past February, titled “Tired of war? Canada grants multi-year visas to Israelis” (https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-787914#google_vignette) That story not only explains the requirements involved for anyone interested in moving to Canada from Israel, it gives a detailed breakdown of the costs one should expect to encounter.
(Updated May 28)
We contacted Ms. Harel to ask whether she’s aware whether there has been an increase in the number of Israelis deciding to emigrate from Israel since October 7. (We want to make clear that we’re not advocating for Israelis to emigrate; we’re simply wanting to learn more about emigration figures – and whether there has been a change in the number of Israelis wanting to leave the country.)
Ms. Harel referred us to a website titled “Globes”: https://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1001471862
The website is in Hebrew, but we were able to translate it into English. There is a graph on the website showing both numbers of immigrants to Israel and emigrants.
The graph shows a fairly steady rate of emigration from 2015-2022, hovering in the 40,000 range, then in 2023 there’s a sudden increase in the number of emigrants to 60,000.
According to the website, the increase in emigrants is due more to a change in the methodology that Israel has been using to count immigrants and emigrants than it is to any sudden upsurge in emigration. (Apparently individuals who had formerly been living in Israel but who may have returned to Israel just once a year were being counted as having immigrated back to Israel. Now that they are no longer being counted as immigrants and instead are being treated as emigrants, the numbers have shifted radically.)
Yet, the website adds this warning: “The figures do not take into account the effects of the war, since it is still not possible to identify those who chose to emigrate following it. It is also difficult to estimate what Yalad Yom will produce – on the one hand, anti-Semitism and hatred of Jews and Israelis around the world reminds everyone where the Jewish home is. On the other hand, the bitter truth we discovered in October is that it was precisely in Israel, the safe fortress of the Jewish people, that a massacre took place reminding us of the horrors of the Holocaust. And if that’s not enough, the explosive social atmosphere and the difference in the state budget deficit, which will inevitably lead to a heavy burden of taxes and a reduction in public services, may convince Zionist Israelis that they don’t belong here.”
Thus, as much as many of us would be disappointed to learn that there is now an upsurge in Israelis wanting to move out of the country, once reliable figures begin to be produced for 2024, we shouldn’t be surprised to learn that is the case – which helps to explain the tremendous popularity of Ms. Harel’s website.
Features
Message from a Palestinian in Gaza to protesters: “You’re hurting the Palestinian cause”
A very brave Palestinian who was willing to put his name to paper and write an article for Newsweek Magazine has exposed the utter hypocrisy of all those students – and others, who have been setting up encampments across the U.S. – and now Canada, too.
You can read the article at https://www.newsweek.com/message-gazan-campus-protesters-youre-hurting-palestinian-cause-opinion-1894313
You must be logged in to post a comment Login