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Last update - 02:19 19/06/2008 A High Court petition too far By Israel Harel Tags: zionism  In an effort to prevent their uprooting, residents of Gush Katif initiated a demonstration three years ago in Netivot for which they obtained a permit. Supporters met at prearranged points in the north and center of the country from which they were to ride to the rally on chartered buses. But the police, in an infuriating move in the service of politics, did not let the buses roll. A petition was filed with the High Court of Justice immediately. The High Court, however, the protector of democracy, joined the politicization of the police and refused to order them to allow the buses to reach the demonstration. In so doing, the court failed in its role as the defender of basic democratic rights: freedom of movement, freedom of speech and freedom to assemble. According to a recent survey by the Israel Democracy Institute, only one-third of Israelis believe that the Supreme Court is the institution that best safeguards democracy, and only 49 percent of the respondents expressed trust in the court. On the day the poll was released, June 10, Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch said the battle being waged against the court, in particular the attacks by Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann, were the cause of such results. That situation, she declared, is a threat to democracy. Advertisement But in fact the erosion of trust began years before Friedmann was appointed. The main agent responsible for damaging public trust in the court is the court itself, which has positioned itself ideologically in the exact same place as the radical left, some of whose components are self-declared post-Zionists or even anti-Zionists. It's no wonder that most of the public has concluded that the High Court of Justice is promoting the position held by entities whose goal is to bring about a de facto de-Zionization of the state of the Jews. Example: Adallah vs. the Jewish National Fund (JNF). The JNF, as everyone knows, redeemed land so that the Jewish people, upon its return to its homeland, could farm and build on land that was acquired honestly. The JNF's charter was approved by the Fifth Zionist Congress in 1901. Theodor Herzl, the founder of the Jewish national movement, Zionism, determined that the JNF lands would be "owned by the Jewish people in perpetuity." In 1961 the Knesset gave the charter the force of law. And now, in 2008, the attorney general of the state that was founded by the Zionist movement declares that the charter of Herzl, the Zionist Congress and the Knesset does not, in his opinion, meet the criteria for equality. In a recent High Court session, it was "suggested" to the JNF that it adopt the attorney general's position. If not, the justices will (in a session in the near future) put their weight behind his opinion. This threat horrifies all Zionist Jews. Many are willing to return to the 1967 borders but are unwilling to relinquish Jewish ownership of the state within these borders - which is the goal of Adallah, The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, and its like, in their frequent petitioning of the High Court. These people feel that the judicial system exploits the pretense of equality in order to advance a position that constantly eats away, petition after petition, at the Judaism and Zionism of the state. The court's automatic support for entities whose sole raison d'etre is to use it to fight against the state's Jewish and Zionist nature is the main reason for the lack of public trust in the court. The Zionist majority believes that the High Court's ideological rulings are leading the Jewish state along a path that conflicts with that of the Zionist founders and framers of Israel's Declaration of Independence. The day may be drawing near when the government tells the court: No more. We are unwilling, or unable, to enforce one more anti-Zionist ruling. That is one High Court ruling too far. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Baptism by fire Bradley Burston offers 10 Mideast traps for Barack Obama to avoid. A second life 'Exodus' passenger makes aliyah six decades after being turned away.   1.   if not for the supreme court 09:14  |  marc 19/06/08   2.   I Expect Nothing Less From This Treif Institution 09:31  |  Yishai Kohen 19/06/08   3.   It is only logical the two had to eventually unite. 09:51  |  TonyL 19/06/08   4.   Democracy/equality vs. Zionism 10:01  |  qrypt 19/06/08   5.   THE PLOY!: "only 49%...expressed trust in the court" 10:12  |  eric 19/06/08   6.   Harel must learn to accept civilized norms 10:24  |  Natallie Durson 19/06/08   7.   The Basic Law of Equality Requires that Zionism be Redefined 10:29  |  Itamar 19/06/08   8.   Jewish-only land=discrimination 10:33  |  Sam 19/06/08   9.   Man, that`s such baaaad propaganda. 10:41  |  Johnboy 19/06/08   10.   Another shocker from Harel 10:54  |  Johnboy 19/06/08   11.   Biased court misinterpreting its role 19:12  |  elan 19/06/08   12.   Itamar # 7 very well expressed. 02:28  |  American in NY 20/06/08

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