Letter to the Editor: Toby F. Block

Letter to editor,

I agree with Shai Robkin. As Israel is the nation-state of the Jews, American Jews should feel free to express their opinions, sharing concerns when they disagree with Israeli policies and offering support when they agree with them. Unfortunately, Robkin’s essay is couched largely in terms of “right” and “left” (with the strong implication that “left” is good and “right” is bad). Our criticisms and praise will be more meaningful if we know more about the issues we’re addressing.

Israel’s Supreme Court is not the bastion of democracy that the opponents of judicial reform claim it to be. Sitting judges have a veto over the appointment of new judges and have been known to reject qualified candidates for appointments to the bench because of differences in ideology. The Court has ordered Jewish communities dismantled based on unproven claims that the communities were built on privately owned Palestinian land, with the Court essentially acting as an advocacy group for people who don’t necessarily have Israel’s best interests at heart. In the absence of a written constitution (or its equivalent, a complete set of Basic Laws), the Court has struck down laws the judges consider “unreasonable.”

Thus, rather than being a “Check and Balance” on the Knesset, the Court has taken control of the Knesset. Balance will be restored only when the Knesset can override the Court’s ruling.

That said, I must agree that allowing the Knesset to override a Court ruling via a simple majority vote (61 Members of Knesset in agreement) would not restore balance; it would give the Knesset control of the Court. However, requiring a supermajority vote (75 to 80 MK’s approving) would require support from some Opposition MK’s in addition to the votes of Coalition MK’s, making the override a better reflection of the opinions expressed by the electorate at the ballot box.

Toby F. Block, Atlanta