There is a famous proverb in Sayings of the Fathers: "Sages, be careful of what you say." That is always sound advice. But there are also times when the wise are advised to be careful of what they don't say. Silence talks, too, and in times of trouble, silence can be thundering.

It is now such a time, and it may well be unprecedented, in the wake of the uproar surrounding Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann's persistent battle against the Supreme Court and its president, Dorit Beinisch. Now it is clear that addressing his proposals individually, and weighing them carefully, each on its own merits, is no longer possible. His most recent proposal, to change the procedure for appointing Supreme Court judges and their deputies, is a case in point. The problem is the common denominator in all his proposals: diminishing the authority of the Supreme Court.

The battle is being waged as a kind of free-for-all, aimed at depriving the Supreme Court of its status and central role in safeguarding the values of proper government. This can be seen in a proposal that would allow the Knesset to enforce a law revoked by the Supreme Court on the grounds of violating the rights of the individual. It can be seen in the bid to change the composition of the committee that appoints Supreme Court justices, strengthening the political echelon. It can be seen in the attempt to keep Supreme Court justices from having a say in choosing an attorney general. And the list goes on.

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This week, Friedmann is attempting, by establishing a variety of search committees, to make the approval of the president of the Supreme Court unnecessary for appointing lower court presidents and their deputies. Prompted not only by this, but by Friedmann's all-out battle to weaken the status of the justice system, Dorit Beinisch wrote an open letter to the minister. "Instead of addressing the needs and problems of [the court system], you are promoting dangerous programs motivated by extraneous considerations," she wrote.

The president expressed her hope that the minister would get a grip on himself and work to strength the professional, independent and non-partisan legal system that has grown up in this country since the establishment of the state. This is a hope, dashed for now, for the continuation of the Israeli tradition whereby justice ministers see their chief task as reinforcing the independence of the courts and serving as a mouthpiece for a system whose leaders do not speak out on their own behalf, private or professional.

In light of the current situation, the likes of which we have never seen in this country, not even in the days when the Haredim organized mass rallies and attacked the Supreme Court, public figures and respected members of both the coalition and opposition must take a stand.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's comment, after many months of thundering silence, about the High Court of Justice being the "guardian of the seal" of democracy, is just idle talk when he allows the justice minister he appointed to make nothing of the court system. The entire ministerial echelon shares responsibility for the decisions reached by the justice minister and his war on the Supreme Court. Top ministers like Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who recently spoke in favor of the justice system, and like Education Minister Yuli Tamir and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, should be the first to protest all these untenable things that are happening every day.

When she was justice minister, Livni had her disputes with then Supreme Court president, Aharon Barak. She did not see herself as the "mouthpiece" of the court. But it was nothing like Friedmann-style warfare. One voice that is conspicuously absent in the current lineup of silent leaders is, indeed, retired justice Barak.

Barak reportedly met with the prime minister, and maybe that is what led to Olmert's remarks at the National Security College this week. But what is missing is the voice of Barak himself, who served as president of the Supreme Court for over a decade, and was considered one of Israel's leading jurists and foremost defenders of democracy.

We need to hear what Aharon Barak has to say, as a former Supreme Court president and a man who has returned to former pastures - academia. His words will remind his good friends, Israel's leading professors of law and other disciplines, of their duty to speak out about the need to preserve the cornerstones of the legal system, even while pursuing vital reforms.

"The silent are dangerous," wrote Jean de la Fontaine, and that remains so until today.