Otzma Yehudit activists are demonstrating this evening in front of the house of Chief Supreme Court Justice Miriam Naor, following the Supreme Court’s decision to delay the appointment of Rabbi Eyal Karim as Chief Rabbi of the IDF.
The Supreme Court has asked the rabbi to explain some of his past statements, after a suit was filed by the left against his appointment. Rabbi Karim was interviewed by the Chief of Staff after his proposed appointment was announced and received his approval.
“The Supreme Court has waged a legal revolution. A group of people acting against the law and against justice and democracy have taken control of the State and are trying to destroy every Jewish symbol, every national symbol of the State of Israel. They want us to be a nation like any other and to erase halakha [Jewish law] and the Torah,” activist Baruch Marzel said.
He added, “We will not be quiet and will not rest until these judges are replaced. We do not want these judges. We need to replace them with judges faithful to Judaism and the Nation of Israel.”
Attorney Itamar Ben-Gvir noted, “I believe that the Supreme Court judges have replaced the Government, the Army Chief of Staff - and maybe they also want to be the Chief Rabbis of the IDF and of the State of Israel. In recent years, we are witness to a very problematic phenomenon. The Supreme Court allows itself to cancel legislation passed by the Knesset. It allows itself to cancel government decisions. [Now it is stepping things up a notch] and wants clarifications from rabbis.”
“This is contrary to democracy an detrimental to it. I am stunned by the words of the Supreme Court today. Because only a short while ago the [Supreme Court] judge Salim Joubran said to me, after I had requested to cancel the agreement with Turkey: ‘Mr. Ben-Gvir, do you want us to replace the Government or the Army?’
“Today, the Supreme Court has replaced both the Government and the Army,” Ben-Gvir said.
There are numerous examples of Israel's Supreme Court, an unelected body whose members are not vetted by the Knesset, taking the reins from the legislative and experts. Just last week, the Supreme Court refused to postpone the date for the expulsion of Jews from Amona despite a request from the Prime Minister. It knocked down the law passed by the Knesset for dealing with illegal infiltrators from Africa. Several years ago, it changed the plans for the security wall due to Arabs who filed claims and against the recommendations of the IDF experts. It has now interfered in the choice of IDF Chief Rabbi instead of ruling that this is not part of its mandate.