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The head of the Israeli Parliament’s justice committee spoke about Israeli democracy, judicial reforms, and the war in Gaza at the conference “Rule of Law as Lawfare” in Budapest on Tuesday. The conference was organized jointly by the Danube Institute, the Center for Fundamental Rights, and The European Conservative journal.
In a panel discussion, Simcha Rothman said the Supreme Court of Israel has extremely broad powers, but also criticized the body for often failing to take into account the will of the people. “We are a democracy, but are we a democratic country? That is a good question,” he said, citing the family unification law as an example. He said that several lawmakers in the Knesset voted against it and the public mood was not in favor, but the law was eventually passed with the help of the board.
He said that it allowed anyone from an “enemy country” to bring a spouse into the country, which could be detrimental to Israel’s national security. He noted that in Israel, the courts used to be “self-regulating” – for example, not interfering in national security or foreign policy issues – but over time they have taken on more and more power.
“The rule of law and the constitution are fine words, but when words lose their meaning, when black is called white, there is no longer any check on power,” he said, stressing that
the rule of law can be used as a weapon against Hungary and other EU countries.”
Quoting George Orwell, he underlined that “freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four,” adding that the truth of this “is being tried to be obscured all over the world.”
Referring to the decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) calling on Israel to stop the offensive in Rafah, he said it was a real example of “how judges can abuse the rule of law.” Responding to accusations that Israel is committing genocide, Rothman said his country is “the only country in the world that does not commit genocide,” adding that “even peacekeeping missions have civilian casualties.” He added: “The charge of genocide is a clear abuse of the rule of law.”
Via MTI, Featured image: X/Simcha Rothman