We did not need to wait for the "Saban Forum," or for Hillary Clinton's harsh words on anti-democratic bills being proposed in Israel, nor hear her mention the increasing radicalization of the rabbinate, or the exclusion of women, to understand what is really underway in this country. The Americans themselves went through a similar period, one not to be forgotten. In the early 1950's, a Senate committee debated an "anti-American" phenomenon manifesting itself in the media, literature, art, and mainly in film and theater. In the beginning, the committee proved to be quite popular. It cast a blanket of suspicion on many good citizens, suspecting them of forming communist cells, ultimately creating an atmosphere in the U.S. that resembled something of a witch hunt. Senator Joseph McCarthy pushed the most sensitive public opinion buttons, claiming the need to "combat communism." Two years after the committee began its activities, Senator McCarthy became despised. Eventually he was denounced by the very Senate that elected him. The McCarthy era is remembered as a dark period in American history, exorcised from the public consciousness. Yet "McCarthyism" has evolved into a commonly used term, thrown around the research and policy arenas and invoked to describe governmental targeting and punishment of those with opposing political views incompatible with the will of the administration, or those suspected of lacking patriotism.
The words uttered publicly by Israel's Supreme Court President, Dorit Beinisch are currently being heavily criticized. But what should she have done? Shut her eyes and waited until the convoy passes by? After all, the attack mounted by Likud MKs Yariv Levin and Zeev Elkin against the Supreme Court began when they perceived a lack of patriotism and signs of post-Zionism in the courts.
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To her critics, it seemed as though Beinisch was unloading a burden which she felt delegitimized Israel's judiciary system and it's Supreme Court. She already understands what many others have not come to comprehend yet: "McCarthy is already here."
Beinisch is trying to confer the principals of the "thought police" also to the television and radio stations suckling at the breast of the government.
If you would have asked me a few years back if it would be acceptable for a president of the Supreme Court to engage in a public assault against critics of the judicial system, as well as some members of the Knesset, I would have answered in the negative. Yet a few years ago it would have been difficult to predict the anti-democratic atmosphere currently gripping the country, an atmosphere that has now entered a downward spiral.
The water, apparently, has reached boiling point. Dorit Beinisch felt that she had to take a stand and make things clear to the general public, a public that does not know how to pass careful and restrained judgement regarding recent events.
I do not think that we should turn a dispute between the justice system and parts of the political system into a normal and legitimate occurrence. There is a need to restrict the limits of discord and to respect the principle of separation of powers. Yet doing so requires tolerance and patience from the political system, a system whose very nature is much more vociferous and has ample access to the media.
The irony here is that outsiders are stepping in to protect us from our own draconian legislation. World public opinion and the attitudes of various democratic regimes toward this legislation are preventing the realization of the entire program. Those at Israel's helm are obliged to a heightened sensitivity, as Israel's power and status have traditionally come from being an island of democracy in the heart of a naturally totalitarian Middle East. To protect these values, our elected officials -- Beinisch, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin -- must stand together.
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