JERUSALEM - The coming years will be crucial towards determining the character of Israel, Chief Justice Aharon Barak said Thursday.
“With Western democracies involved in 'free-time' pursuits such as hi-tech and Internet, in Israel we will return to the fundamental questions of our existence, questions that for one reason or another we have neglected to tackle,” said Barak.
The chief justice made the comments at a swearing-in ceremony Thursday for new judges at President Moshe Katsav’s official residence in Jerusalem. During his address, Barak chose to stress the importance of the next few years, which he described as “fateful.”
Rule of law, civil society
Barak said the coming years would determine the standing of non-Jewish minorities in Israel, and would create a basis for the rule of law and standing for civil society.
“The coming years will be crucial for our relations with our neighbours, but even more so for our relations with ourselves. They will be important for issues such as synagogue-and-state, and a modern Zionism – not post-Zionism – that takes into account the heterogeneous and pluralistic nature of Israeli society.”
Barak also predicted that, as in other Western countries, many public issues would find their way to the courtroom. “More and more political issues will take on judicial appearances and look to the court to decide them.”
He then looked at his new colleagues and said they were well prepared to accept the challenge. “It is our job and our responsibility,” he said, “whether or not we want it.”
He then said Israeli society will find its judges are up to the admittedly weighty task.
"We have a long, wide-ranging history," he said, "a history that guides us and tells us to ignore, as far as possible, our personal beliefs, in order to give as objective a ruling as possible, in keeping with the basic values of the nation and its people."
