Jerusalem District Court Judge Noam Solberg has rejected a petition by a young draft-dodger against an Interior Ministry decision not to grant him a passport.
The appellant had left Israel, with his parents, some years ago, and did not return for his army service when he came of age. He was declared a draft-evader.
This status began to take on negative connotations for him when he applied to the Interior Ministry for a passport – and was turned down. He then turned to the court for duress, and has been similarly rejected.
Judge Solberg, who is under consideration for a Supreme Court judgeship, ruled, “It is incumbent upon the citizens of Israel to fulfill their obligations according to the Security Service Law. Yes, even in this period of individual rights, there are still obligations towards the community, i.e., the State and the members of one’s society.”
Judge Solberg quoted the late U.S. President John F. Kennedy’s famous dictum, “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” The judge continued, “the discussion about rights and the constant striving to maximize their fulfillment cause us to forget sometimes the fact that a society cannot be established without the fulfillment of its individuals’ obligations vis-à-vis the societal institutions. Neither the individual nor the community can exist without working together.”
“When a citizen living abroad wishes a passport, it appears to me that the Interior Minister is permitted – and possibly even obligated – to take into consideration, among other things, whether that citizen fulfilled his obligation under the Security Service Law.”