Judges are not saints, but discourse must be kept civil

Since the High Court made its ruling on illegal aliens last week, Israeli public discourse has seen an all-out assault on the court and the entire justice system. Social media has been inundated with badmouthing of the court and its judges.

 

We'll put aside the fact the High Court has come more than halfway, once again, for the government. We'll ignore the fact human rights organizations were effectively rejected and beaten. We'll also forget the court determined aliens seeking work in Israel may be deported to a third country, so long as they don't object to deportation.

The justice system has paramount importance in any properly functioning country. In Israel, its importance is practically existential: our society is made up of the Gathering of Israel, with people of different belief systems and cultures and a community filled to the brim with polarized opinions and ideological differences, to say nothing of the fact government institutions are weak, maybe even hollow. "A country held together with spit," somebody once described Israel.

The Supreme Court justices (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)

The justice system's strength is the column supporting the entire shaky structure. It's no coincidence, then, that messianic "redemption" groups, Hilltop Youths and nationalistic and religious zealots, all seeking to shatter the country, include the courts in their slogan: "Defeat the government, break the court, uproot Zionism." Judges aren't saints, true. They've always had a certain indulgence to them. 1950 was one of the hardest years Israel has experienced. There was nothing to eat, food was rationed, the security situation was precarious and the country saw wave after wave of immigration. So, in 1950 the judges set an ultimatum: if our pay isn't raised by 50 percent immediately, we'll all collectively resign. Their wages were, of course, were raised. Austerity then passed and gave way to prosperity. The Supreme Court seemed to have gotten confused and forgot justices are appointed, rather than elected. All of a sudden, everything was justiciable. A great light shone down from the heavens, showing people the country may be run through demonstrating legal standing. The Supreme Court created a new god—"the reasonable man"—and started praying to him. And who was this "reasonable man"? None other than a supreme court justice. This revolution, religious in nature, was spearheaded by Aharon Barak, one of the preeminent jurists of our times. Barak's rhetoric, far more overzealous than his actual rulings, invited counter-rhetoric. This counter-rhetoric was more simplistic, and therefore far more communicable.  

The golden statue of Chief Justice Miriam Naor placed near the Supreme Court last week

A pointed spiritual disagreement, meanwhile, erupted between the court's own judges. Menachem Elon, for instance, wrote, "Who and what are we, what authority and position do we have that enables us to determine political and military issues?"

The High Court was—and still is—subservient, national, even right-wing. It allowed targeted killings and expanded the scope of the "ticking time bomb" definition. It approved the separation barrier with only slight changes. It forbade the boycotting of cottage cheese manufactured in the West Bank but allowed a boycott based on its price. It allowed terrorist deportation. It increased reparation to Gush Katif evacuees, despite proof their living expenses beyond the Green Line were miniscule and their profits astronomical. It was under the High Court's veiled gaze that 125 settlements and 80 to 90 unapproved outposts exist all over the West Bank without a care in the world. A speedy, deep erosion has ravaged Israeli politics. People hovering around the cabinet table and in the ruling party boast about never having read a book in their lives. Others may have, but they don't understand what they read and don't remember what they didn't understand to begin with. These learned scholars, members of the coalition, are leading the herd stampeding over the justice system and providing its elected representatives with the coveted likes and applause. The precious verdict on illegal aliens objected to the "open facility," since a semi-incarcerated alien will find it hard to fill their life with meaning, find a partner, pick up some hobbies. In an article I wrote then I wondered whether Israel was created to provide Eritreans and Sudanese with an outdoors holiday or summer camp, or was it created to provide shelter for those wretches fleeing the sword hanging over their heads. The line between courteous criticism of a judicial decision and boorish, low class tongue-lashing by ministers and MKs is the line separating the civilized and the cretins.

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