An internal faction within the Jewish Home party has defended a caricature it disseminated that was critical of the Supreme Court.
In the caricature, which was distributed by the National Union faction, a justice can be seen shooting missiles labeled "Amona evacuation", the "Infiltrators", "Judicial Activism", and the "Reform Kotel" before being shot down by an Iron Dome missile defense system called the "Bypass Law".
The cartoon aroused criticism among the left, who contended that its publication constituted incitement. "There is a difference between legitimate criticism and portraying justices as terrorists," said Zionist Union head Avi Gabbay. "This is incitement that risks peoples lives."
However, National Union Secretary-General Ofer Sofer said that the cartoon was a way of showing how the Supreme Court has overstepped its boundaries. "The people of the party feel like many citizens of Israel, who in recent years saw how judicial activism took power and ruled arbitrarily, in a way that weakens the State of Israel and its Jewish identity," said Sofer.
"This is the case with the infiltrators, its damage to public Sabbath observance, recognition of the Reform movement, evacuation of settlements and more. This feeling was expressed a little sharply in the caricature. The real problem is not the cartoon but the harsh reality that the Supreme Court judges are responsible for. We recommend listening to the cries of the youth and not dealing with a discussion of inconceivable comparisons."
Barak Kronefeld, who heads the National Union Youth movement that had originally published the cartoon on its Facebook page, asked why the media has remained silent when right-wing politicians were portrayed in equally harsh terms.
"We did not compare the Supreme Court to the terrorists," said Kronefeld. "There were cartoons against Aryeh Deri when he was passing the Supermarket Law, there were demonstrations against the attorney general, in which equally bad things were said. Where was Avi Gabbay then?" he asked.
The controversy comes as the Knesset is set this week to approve a "Bypass Bill" that would enable the government to override Supreme Court decisions.
