At a yearly convention at the Mishpat La'am Center which convenes to discuss the present and future of Israeli law and its relationship with traditional Jewish law, attorney Itamar Ben-Gvir highlighted a problem of excessive judicial control within the Israeli political system.
Ben-Gvir, who is known for his defense of Jews against government accusations of misconduct in the face of violent Arab attack, traced the roots of the current Israeli judicial ethos to former Supreme Court Chief Justice Aharon Barak.
He noted that, at first glance, Barak's ethos was not controversial: "Barak said that judges are to be the mouth of the lawmakers. They are to implement what the lawmaker intended."
However, he pointed out that Barak ultimately contradicted this ethos with a completely opposing idea: "What is the role of the judge? […] We as judges need to create law. Our purpose is to guard the constitution and democracy […]
"[What is democracy for Barak? It is not the will of the people, but rather] consists of the values of justice and morality. Who decides what defines these values? The judge himself."
Ben-Gvir concluded: "These values [rather than the desire to be a subordinate spokesman for the lawmakers] are guiding the judges' decisions. Therefore, in today's society, the judges interpret the laws according to their backgrounds and value system, [which is] different from [Jewish values]."