The Supreme Court of Israel: Chronology of a power grab

February 3, 2025

By Geoffrey Clarfield

Not all, but most of Israel’s existential problems are the result of Islamic Jihad and vestigial Euro American religious and social prejudice against Jews, Judaism and the State of Israel in its fight to be treated equally and fairly in the family of nations. But even Israel’s greatest and most sincere supporters must be vigilant against those forces and actors within Israel (and I can say from direct experience), either consciously or unconsciously influenced by arbitrary, top down administrative state like behaviour, and who want to take charge of national life and death decisions.

Sadly, Israeli lawyer judge Aharon Barak is the worst among them and has set terrible, non democratic precedents in the behaviour and the “rulings” of the Israeli Supreme Court. What I find cosmically entertaining is his notion of “reasonableness” which he has said has motivated him to imitate the legal system of Canada which is woke, broken, twisted and weighted against the average English speaking Canadian.

It is almost funny. And so here is the truth from a former Muslim, a blogger and great friend of the Jewish state. So great that she sees things that others would rather ignore.

Introduction

Israel finds herself in the midst of a severe constitutional crisis that reached a dramatic peak when a new President of the Supreme Court (Chief Justice), Yitzhak Amit, practically appointed himself. Most government ministers, including, crucially, the Minister of Justice, refused to recognise him. The government of Israel and the Supreme Court of Israel are now, in effect, boycotting each other.

The Supreme Court, once a beacon of justice and moderation, many Israelis no longer trust. Jews have never had much experience with Western democracy, and most of those who established the first Israeli governments came from socialist and communist backgrounds. The democracy created during the War of Independence had serious flaws, the most serious of which was that Israel has no Constitution. . .

The Israeli Supreme Court and their cheerleaders and sycophants in the mainstream media have long sold a narrative that portrays the Court as a forward-thinking, brilliant institution, an institution that aroused awe and praise throughout the democratic world. Nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is that the Court, along with its toadies and power-hungry radicals in the State Prosecutor’s office and the office of the government legal advisor, have come close to destroying Israeli democracy. They have certainly corrupted the concept of a separation of powers beyond all recognition. The term, as used by the Court and its cronies has come to mean that the other branches of government have no control over the judicial branch – a very far cry from the meaning of the ideal as understood and implemented in other democracies. The individual citizen’s ballot is now pointless. Many leading jurists in the West are bemused or contemptuous (or both) of the Israeli Supreme Court.

Israeli democracy has one foot in the grave, however as Miracle Max (played by Billy Crystal) said while rejuvenating the recently deceased hero Wesley in the classic movie Princess Bride, it may only be “mostly dead”, as opposed to permanently dead.

Read it all here