Yesterday evening at about 7:45 in the evening, we turned on our television, by chance to see a live speech from the president of the Israeli Supreme Court, Esther Hayut. Following are parts of what she said.
"This is an unrestrained attack on the legal system, as though it were an enemy to be stormed and subdued. Cynically enough, those who thought up this plan call it a plan ‘to fix’ the legal system. And I say, this is a plan to dismember the legal system. It is intended to land a mortal blow on the independence and impartiality of the judicial branch of government and to turn it into a silent branch....
"Whoever tells you ‘no more striking down laws’ actually means: no more prohibiting the arrest of soldiers for days without bringing them before a court, as the court ruled in the Tzemah case; no more protection of the right of a car owner to receive income supplement, as the court ruled in the Hassan case; no more realization of the right of single-sex couples to parenthood and a full family life, as the court ruled in the Arad-Pinkas case.
"And anyone who tells you ‘no more disqualification of decisions marred by extreme unreasonableness’ actually means: no more prohibiting cutting off electricity to citizens in financial or medical difficulty, as the court ruled in the Moisa case; no more reinforcement of all educational institutions near the Gaza border, as the court ruled in the Wasser case; no more cancellation of severe restrictions on freedom of political expression in the press and in demonstrations, as the court ruled in the Schnitzer case, and in many other cases; no more obliging a local authority to build a mikveh (ritual bath) for religiously observant women in a settlement with a secular majority, as the court ruled in the case of Kfar Vradim; no more protection of the right of children with special needs to receive free special education, even when they are integrated into the regular education system, as the court ruled in the Yated case. No more, and these are just a few examples.
"In other words, if government decisions are the end of the matter, and the court is deprived of the tools for fulfilling its function, it will not be possible to ensure protection of rights in cases in which government agencies infringe them in an uncalled for way through legislation or administrative decisions."
A few minutes later, the new Minister of Justice, Yariv Levin, said (in a speech that almost certainly was written earlier in the day, i.e. without knowing exactly what Hayut was going to say):
"Something happened this evening. It turns out that there is another political party in Israel. A party that did not compete in the election that took place only two months ago. A party that has put itself above the Knesset, above the decision of the people. This evening, we heard rhetoric familiar from black flag demonstrations. It’s the same political agenda, the same call to set the streets on fire".
That's not what we heard, but never mind.
As usual, I awoke in the middle of the night (at about 2:20 am) for a toilet visit; unusually I didn't fall asleep straight away once back in bed. Instead, I had nightmares of Yariv Levin running the country.
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|---|---|---|---|
| 325 | 13/01/2011 | Mirror mirror on the wall | Personal |
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