opinions & letters
Justice, Justice Thou Shalt Review
Rabbi Shai Cherry
T he judicial reforms being ramrodded through
the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, have
galvanized Israelis as well as those outside
the country who are committed to Israel’s peace and
prosperity. Up to half a million Israeli protesters, in a country of
fewer than 10 million people, have gathered weekly
since this legislative coup breached the Knesset.

The protesters are determined, as are their allies, to
thwart the judicial reforms initiated by a coalition of
the illiberal, the criminal and the religiously fanatic.

These judicial reforms would sabotage Israel’s
democracy. Illiberalism, according to Professor Marlene
Laruelle of George Washington University, “is a
strain of political culture, a set of institutional reforms
(such as assaults on an independent judiciary) and
broader societal processes (such as declining trust
in liberal democratic institutions) that, over the past
two decades, has emerged in response to liberalism.

… Adherents of illiberalism argue that, in the face of a
liberalism that has ‘gone too far,’ it is time to reassert
the rights of the collective, or of an alleged silent
majority, by … preferring a strong leader with large
powers over a parliamentary system … [and by] refus-
ing multiculturalism and minority rights. …”
Israel’s assault on the judiciary is led by a prime
minister who is standing trial for corruption. One of
the judicial “reforms” would allow the government to
reinstate Aryeh Deri, previously convicted of bribery,
fraud and breach of trust, to his previous position as
a minister. Another “reform” would essentially elimi-
nate judicial review, potentially shielding the prime
minister from future criminal convictions.

In the United States, the principle of judicial review
— the ability of the judicial branch to pronounce on
the constitutionality of any particular piece of legisla-
tion — was established by the 1803 decision Marbury
vs. Madison.

As Israel approaches its 75th anniversary, she
still has no constitution. Nevertheless, Israel does
have a Declaration of Independence guaranteeing
“complete equality of social and political rights to all
Israel’s inhabitants.”
Who guards those rights if not the judiciary?
Our Founding Fathers foresaw the dangers of the
tyranny of the majority. “[A majority may] sacrifice to
its ruling passion or interest both the public good
and the rights of other citizens” (James Madison,
Federalist Paper #10). Alexander Hamilton proffered
the solution: “[It is the duty of the courts] to declare all
acts contrary to the manifest tenor of the Constitution
void” (Federalist Paper #78).

In other words, judicial review.

The mere existence of Israel’s Constitution, Law
and Justice Committee speaks to the unfinished
imperfection of Israel’s system of governance. But
the proposal for judicial reform would exacerbate
those imperfections by neutering the power of the
courts to declare laws void that violate individual
rights. Members of the governing coalition have
made no secret of their desire to deny rights both to
non-Jewish Israelis and non-Orthodox Jews.

As an American, I oppose this version of judicial
reforms because it tilts Israel from democracy toward
authoritarianism. Thomas Nides, the American
ambassador to Israel, echoed Israel’s president
in calling for a suspension of the legislative blitz
to negotiate a compromise that better reflects a
broader base of the Israeli electorate. Amichai Chikli,
Israel’s inaugural Minister of Diaspora Affairs, told
him to “mind his own business.”
Telling the ambassador of the country that provides
$3 billion a year in aid to Israel to “mind his own
business,” calls into question more than Chikli’s
diplomatic bona fides.

As a rabbi, this version of judicial reform is a
betrayal of the most sacred tenets of Judaism. Well
before our own Declaration of Independence in
the age of the Enlightenment, the Book of Genesis
announced the radical, countercultural claim that all
people were created in the divine image. Everyone
possesses inherent dignity.

The Torah’s laws are geared toward protecting that
dignity through the pursuit of justice. Alas, the Israeli
government is pursuing unchecked power to deny
others the dignity of their humanity.

To paraphrase David Ben-Gurion, American Jews
must fight these judicial reforms as if there were no
terrorists, antisemites or anti-Zionists. And we must
fight the terrorists, antisemites and anti-Zionists as if
there were no judicial reforms. ■
Shai Cherry is the rabbi at Congregation Adath
Jeshurun in Elkins Park.

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letters Enforcing the Taylor Force Act
I applaud the enforcement of the Taylor Force Act
(“Progeny of the Taylor Force Act,” March 16). The
Palestinian Authority should be penalized for under-
writing acts of Palestinian terror.

The Pindrus Act, sponsored by a minister of the
far-right United Torah Judaism Party, would allow
Israeli victims of Palestinian terror to sue the PA for
compensatory damages. The PA, however, is no
longer the law enforcement agency in the West Bank.

That responsibility now falls to the IDF, which is, after
all, now responsible for the safety of all residents of
the West Bank, including Palestinians.

In fact, the IDF was responsible for protecting the
murdered residents of Hawara and preventing the
destruction of property and the injuries that resulted
from the settler pogrom.

Victims of any terror, perpetrated by Jews or
Palestinians living in the West Bank should be
equally compensated after judicial review by the
Israeli Supreme Court, which has jurisdiction over
such matters.

Stuart Fredd, Ambler
Defining Reality
The attack on Huwara by observant Jews fed up
with being victims of stabbings and shootings, of
thrown rocks and other projectiles aimed at their
cars, of bombs set off indiscriminately, of family
massacres — thankfully, this is not the Orthodox
Judaism that Aviad Houminer-Rosenblum grew up on
(The Settlers’ Attack on Huwara Is Not the Orthodox
Judaism I Grew Up On,” March 9).

But that is the reality for these Jews. Perhaps they
are sick and tired of being on the receiving end and
decided to play by Arab rules for a change. If the
destruction of Huwara sends a message to the next
Palestinian terrorist, what’s the problem? Must Jews
always play the victim?
As for the author’s irresponsible statement that
Jewish outposts abuse the Palestinians daily, it is just
that — an irresponsible statement. Perhaps he thinks
that Jews should return to the ‘67 boundaries or,
even better, the ‘48 lines. I support the right of these
Jews to live anywhere in Eretz Israel. They are true
Zionists, and that’s Orthodox Judaism. ■
Zachary Margolies, Philadelphia
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