It's not every day that you meet a government minister who is glad to be dealing with his ministry's affairs and who says that he is proud to go to work each morning. Ofir Akunis, 42, has been Science, Technology and Space Minister for nearly a year. After spending years as a Knesset member and deputy minister, he has arrived at the executive table. Not many Likud members can recite the writings of Zeev Jabotinsky and Menachem Begin the way he can. He says that he entered politics out of a desire to make changes and to have influence. "After [Prime Minister Yitzhak] Rabin's murder, I went to Beit Jabotinsky [Likud party headquarters] in Tel Aviv and asked to join the Likud's outreach efforts," he recalls. "The state is important to me, and I saw what was about to happen." They took him on to the outreach team, where he proved himself to be a talented spokesman, paving the way for him to become the spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then for his Knesset career. "This is a very important ministry, and it fortifies Israel's future," Akunis says of the Science Ministry. "It is a ministry that opens up new, huge markets for the country. From China to California, they look at us with amazement, admiration, appreciation and a genuine desire for cooperation. They see a small country with great success, a country that leads the way in innovation. International isolation? That talk is nonsense. There are constant visits here. Just this month, the head of NASA visited, as did the German and Italian science ministers. I have been invited to visit India soon. They understand our capabilities." How do you explain Israel's excellence in these fields- "Israel's main resource is its creative brains. Our people are our greatest resource. As a policy, we encourage excellence in the sciences. The government encourages advanced secondary school studies in math and science. The fundamentals underpinning the cellular telephone, television watching in the evening, internet and social media use, and the development of anti-ballistic missile defense systems like the Iron Dome are amazing. The state understood this and funnels its resources to encourage this [type of development] at record levels." Akunis has more examples. One of the decisions made by his ministry dealt with supporting and funding students to participate in technology, robotics and cyber competitions abroad, a choice that Akunis calls "revolutionary." "Thankfully, the prime minister gave the move his complete backing. Each week, I meet with students. I see genius breaking free. The sharp minds of our young people really stand out. They are fortifying the future existence of the State of Israel. We will soon see these youths in the army, in the cyber industry and in the world of Israeli science." International reports say the crack in the Israeli dream will likely be caused by large population groups that discourage the study of science, such as the ultra-Orthodox community. "There is a lot of change there [in the ultra-Orthodox community], without legislation or coercion, without artificial campaigns from parties with an agenda. The younger generation [of haredim] is open-minded and studies, including haredi women. This is happening at the Jerusalem College of Technology [an Orthodox Jewish college], it is happening at the Ono Academic College, and at many other places. I visited these places with Health Minister Yakov Litzman, and I saw it happening. In [the town of] Lod as well, we visited schools aimed at the Arab communities with my friend Yair Revivo, the mayor of Lod. At the Al-Rashidiya School, I met Hosni, a 12-year-old student in the robotics class -- the same age as my son. He had returned from a competition in Hong Kong where he won the bronze medal." Right in the morning, left in the evening Akunis, who grew into a young politician in Tel Aviv, is counted among the Likud's more hawkish camp. His schedule includes press-filled visits to Judea and Samaria, the Jordan Valley and the Golan Heights, where he funds his ministry's development centers. As one of the most prominent opponents of the two-state solution, or of any kind of withdrawal in favor of an agreement, he has strong opinions about political issues. "Abu Mazen [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas] is a hypocrite and a liar," he says. "When he sees Israelis, he always prefers to tell half-truths. It's the PLO's 10-Point Program. Abu Mazen hasn't changed so much as a comma. The 10-Point Program says first to take what is given, then to move on to '47 borders, then to destroy Israel and establish a Palestinian state in its place. "They don't want a state alongside ours, they want a state instead of ours. The Palestinian Arab public wants to return to Haifa and Jaffa. The left and center parties, which claim that an arrangement is possible, are defrauding the Israeli public. So, when I hear this lie that there are center parties in Israel, I get annoyed. There is no center. There are parties that switch between the Right in the morning and the Left in the evening. These are completely left-wing parties, as anyone in favor of withdrawal as a political solution is a left-winger in my eyes. For example, [Yesh Atid leader] Yair Lapid and [Zionist Union MK] Tzipi Livni -- they are presenting a solution of settlement blocs. This is not a solution as it is not doable. The Arabs want everything, all of Palestine." So what's the solution- "My worldview is that we have the unshakable right to our land. We have no intention to control the Palestinians, and in actuality, we do not control them," he says. "The Palestinian Authority rules over 98 percent of Palestinians in the towns and villages." The IDF enters and arrests people every night. "That entry is specific to fortify Israel's security and to defend the country's citizens," Akunis responds. "The IDF enters for security purposes, to prevent the activities of a terrorist with a bomb or someone planning to carry out a stabbing attack. This policy must continue. If the defense establishment recommends anything else, it would be a mistaken recommendation." During the current terror wave, Akunis was one of the first to call for tougher policies. He opposed the return of terrorists' bodies to their families and called for the demolition of the attackers' homes and the deportation of their families. "I see nothing in international law that contradicts this policy of deterrence, which both right- and left-wing governments have employed in the past," he says. Many say the Right is in power, so it should use that power. Is it possible that you don't know how to govern and aren't fulfilling the Right's potential- "I hear these arguments and don't agree with them. I reject such pessimism. Some people always say things aren't okay. I don't accept this position. We are a government of action. Things get done, and of course I'd be happy if more got done. Obviously the government faces challenges, but people tend to forget the main fact, which is that Israel is one of the strongest countries in the world in any aspect, starting with the military aspect and including its economic, scientific and technological clout. These things are achieved with a governmental foundation; they don't happen on their own." With that, Akunis suggests something fundamental affecting the Right's ability to govern properly: the conduct of the Supreme Court. "It's not an agenda of mine to attack the High Court of Justice, and it's actually important to me that things be said, but I think the judiciary activism has crossed all lines. The former Supreme Court president, Justice Aharon Barak, blurred the lines of democratic rule. There have always been three branches: the executive, which is the government; the legislative branch, which is the Knesset; and the judiciary, which is supposed to judge according to the laws of the Knesset. That's its job. The High Court assumed a freedom of action for itself, which is both grave and unacceptable, and it has happened because the makeup of the Supreme Court doesn't represent the variety of sectors and viewpoints in Israeli society equally." 'I don't attack, I criticize' According to Akunis, the court's over-activism is caused by a "very close-knit group engaged in self-preservation. The Judicial Selection Committee still functions according to the 'friend brings a friend' method. This needs to stop. I hope the next times the Judicial Selection Committee reaches a decision, and decisions are needed when it comes to appointing judges, they will be different. I remember the immense joy at the beginning of the 2000s, when Justice Edmund Levy from Ramla, with his knitted kippah and past ties to the Herut party, was chosen. Why does this have to be such a rare occurrence? The people are supposed be represented naturally, not through affirmative action. On this matter I definitely agree that fast change is needed." Akunis says he has a long history with the Supreme Court and how it functions. "The first time the Supreme Court hurt me personally was in 2012, when it rejected my demand to disqualify Joint Arab List MK Hanin Zoabi from running for the Knesset. At the time I said I respected the ruling, but it gave Arab MKs a green light to continue with their extremism. As someone who is accustomed to providing answers on behalf of the government in the Knesset plenum, I also listen to speeches in order to respond to them. The things I hear from the Arab MKs are completely unacceptable. In any other parliament they wouldn't even think of saying such things: threats and contempt for the State of Israel, refusal to recognize the existence of Israel as Jewish and democratic, because of which they have a place in the Knesset in the first place. "And the court doesn't stop. Why does the court reject the laws that curb illegal entry into the country, which represents a strategic threat to Israel and hurts the weaker sectors of society? Have High Court justices visited the neighborhood of Neve Shaanan in Tel Aviv? Have they seen the neighborhoods of south Tel Aviv, which are under African occupation? We aren't talking about refugees and we're not talking about asylum seekers, as they are referred to according to the whitewashed language of the Left and the opposition. We are talking about fit young guys who came here to work, whose wives are giving birth at Ichilov Hospital at a growing rate at the expense of the Israeli taxpayer. "The government with us at the helm built a fence along the Sinai border that has done wonders. But along came the High Court judges and green-lighted opening the Saharonim detention center, which is an integral part of deterring the infiltrators. Did the judges ask Mrs. Cohen from the Hatikvah neighborhood what living with their decisions has been like for the past decade? Of course not, but it's still not too late to change things. "This has been an ongoing struggle. I expect the High Court not to reject the government's next important decision on the matter and will allow us to authorize our agreements with a third-party country, to where these illegal infiltrators will be moved." 'There is no silencing of voices' Akunis has no doubts about the work the government has been doing. "We received a mandate from the public, and we are fulfilling our duty as the executive branch. We are doing. A million Israelis chose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last spring. That number was an unprecedented high. Even [Ariel] Sharon, who won 38 mandates, had lower votes relatively. Sharon received 930,000 votes and a million people voted for Netanyahu. We were given the mandate to lead the country according to its views. We are doing this in a stately manner, but the court inserts itself and interferes in everything. Then people say, so change the legislation. The most absurd thing is that the High Court comes and nullifies the legislation. The decisions pertain to all fundamental issues. Why did the High Court intervene with the natural gas deals? Was anything illegal taking place? The answer is no." You don't see how you and your colleagues' repeated attacks on the High Court are problematic? "I don't attack, I critique. The right to criticize exists. This attitude that is emerging, whereby there are those who cannot be criticized -- in the media, the Attorney General's Office, the Supreme Court -- is not something I can tolerate. Everyone has the right to criticize everybody. There is no silencing of voices. As long as it's not incitement or injurious to others criticism is permissible, and that includes the court and its decisions. I do this in a serious manner. I don't attack the court with a political ax to grind. "By the way, the judges are people like me and you. Sometimes they make the wrong decision and sometimes those mistakes are huge, which was the case when Zoabi's disqualification was rejected."
