Former Supreme Court President Aharon Barak is facing a lawsuit for slander after saying that Israeli Jews are prepared to throw Arabs into the sea. The suit was filed by Eldad Keinan, a resident of Haifa.
Keinan said he is not a nationalist or a member of the political right, but was offended by Barak's words. The suit was filed in order to prevent a situation in which Barak's harsh invective was met with silence, he said.
“If you ask a Jew if he's in favor of human rights, he'll say 'Of course.' If you ask him if he's in favor of throwing the Arabs into the sea, he'll say 'Of course,'” Barak said last week at a conference on Lawmakers for Human Rights.
Barak also criticized the Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria, which he accused of creating racism elsewhere in the country.
Barak's speech earned criticism from former Chief Administrator of the Courts Judge Dan Arbel as well. In an interview with Voice of Israel Radio, Arbel questioned Barak's understanding of the views held by the Israeli public, and suggested that the former justice take more care in ascribing opinions to others.
Barak was unusually open about his personal political opinions in the speech, and called for Israel to become “a state of all its citizens,” a phrase usually used by those who do not want Israel defined as a Jewish state. Barak said he wished to continue defining Israel as a Jewish state, but limited the practical definition of “Jewish state” to a state that gives preference to Jews during the immigration process.
Members of Knesset from the political right criticized Barak's speech last week, and said Barak had proved that the extreme left controls Israel's justice system. Barak's view on the Jewish state is similar to that espoused by Azmi Bishara, said MK Michael Ben-Ari, referring to an extremist former Arab MK currently on the run after allegedly committing treason.