Tel-Chai Nation

Bezalel Smotrich's called for an urgent meeting on the high court's politicized disqualification of Michael Ben-Ari from being able to run for Knesset:

National Union Chairman MK Bezalel Smotrich on Monday called a Knesset meeting to cancel Section 7a, on which the Supreme Court based its decision to disqualify Otzma Yehudit candidate Dr. Michael Ben-Ari, but which the Court ignored with regards to the terror-supporting Arab parties.

"We heard a lot of condemnations of the Supreme Court's decision yesterday, but words are not enough - it's time to act," Smotrich said. "For the first time in the State of Israel's history, a 'council of wise men' is deciding who Israel's citizens are allowed to vote for, instead of the voters deciding."

"The Supreme Court justices disqualified a candidate due to his views regarding Israel's enemies, but approved parties which openly identify with Israel's enemies. This distortion of justice must be corrected today."

Dror Eydar's commented further:

The Supreme Court's ruling on Sunday hampers the right to freedom of expression, the life's blood of any democracy. Disqualifying a candidate from the Right, while approving candidates from the Left, also severely damages the public's trust in the fairness of the legal process. These matters are so simple, that one is left with the impression that the Supreme Court justices aren't interested in critical thought which although isn't complex is certainly vital for the implementation of justice. What we saw on Sunday was the politicization of the legal system.

The judges' power stems from the citizens who designated them as their arbiters. But the public didn't ask them to determine the nature of our political discourse nor to shield gentle souls from harsh words. Israeli democracy is strong and vibrant and if it can handle the extremists from the Left it can certainly handle Michael Ben-Ari.

Clause 7a of Basic Law: The Knesset, according to which Ben-Ari was barred and the extremists from the Left were approved, stipulates that candidates or Knesset lists should be disqualified "if the objects or actions of the list or the actions of the person, expressly or by implication, include one of the following: negation of the existence of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state; incitement to racism; support of armed struggle, by a hostile state or a terrorist organization, against the State of Israel."

In my view, this clause is entirely problematic aside from the last part. A democracy has to permit the expression of harsh, even extreme sentiments. The more we allow free discourse, the less violence we will encounter on the fringes. The only exception is "support of armed struggle." But when did we start being afraid of words? The Jewish nation is a nation of texts, and some of these texts are severe and extreme. We've never been afraid of contending with harsh expressions and we never silenced opinions in places of Torah study. Prohibiting the opinions (not including calls to violence) of political rivals is a denial of our people's own polemic traditions.

The 7a clause must be modified if real justice is to be had in our legal system. And the court authorities who pulled this disturbing stunt should be ashamed of themselves, and owe the public an apology.

Labels: anti-semitism, dhimmitude, islam, Israel, Israeli Arabs, jihad, Knesset, Moonbattery, political corruption, terrorism