The Vice President of the High Court, Justice Elyakim Rubinstein, blasted this week what he called “frustrated politicians” who, he said, wrongly claimed that the High Court should not have ordered a delay in the demolition of homes of terrorists.
Rubinstein’s comments were made earlier this week at a ceremony in memory of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin at the Kinneret College and were published Tuesday.
"I read and hear tales, literally, about the High Court, in which I have the privilege and honor to serve. Of course, criticism is legitimate, even of the court - and we also learn from it, but there's no basis to the false accusations about delays in the discussions on the demolitions of homes of terrorists and all sorts of complaints of this kind,” he said.
“Just check the facts, and anyone can read them on the court’s website. As someone who sat at the discussions on all the appeals over the past year, I can tell you authoritatively, if my colleague did not delay a demolition order before receiving the state’s response and holding a discussion about it, we would have been like Sodom and Gomorrah - first we destroy and then we ask questions,” continued Rubinstein.
The comments come in the wake of the High Court's decision to hold off on demolitions of terrorists' homes, after the families petitioned the IDF demolition orders. The decision was sharply criticized by nationalist MKs who said the court had overstepped its boundaries.
"The frustrations of some politicians and these and other writers, some due to incredible ignorance and some not by accident, should not be taken out on the court,” Rubinstein said in response to the criticism.
“The court is part of the nation and the state, it’s not from the UN. But it fights for the character of the state as a state of law, human rights and human obligations,” he continued. “To know this, all you need is the opposite of the world of lies - just common decency, after learning the facts with regard to our work. Jerusalem was destroyed because of baseless hatred, Rabbi Kook spoke about unconditional love, Yitzhak Rabin was murdered because of baseless hatred. It continues in full force among us, even in this context. But as far as [the judges are] concerned, this does not impact our work. The law guides us and that’s all.”