"Israel is, too, a democracy in the substantive sense of the word, and
there are two factors which have contributed to this. The first is the British
legal tradition, with its basic principle that if one has a grievance against
the government, he may go to the high court of justice which administers the
prerogative writs, outstanding among them the writs of habeas corpus,
prohibition, and mandamus. These procedures have been inherited from the
British Mandatory government; they are written in no book. There is even no
special law which explicitly states that Israel has undertaken to respect this
British legal tradition."
Moshe Davis, "Israel:
Its Role in Civilization" Harper, 1956
"The second factor assuring the protection of human rights is the Supreme
Court. It is to the honor of the public and government of Israel alike that
they have unhesitatingly accepted the idea of the Supreme Court's maintaining a
certain degree of control over governmental action. Israel's Supreme Court is,
moreover, one which is independent of the administration. It is a court to
which have been appointed the best jurists in the land, each of whose
appointments has been confirmed by the Knesset. It is a court which has behind
it, first, the authority of knowledge and learning; second, the confidence of
the government; and third, the public's confidence, expressed by the vote of
the Knesset."
(ibid)
Israeli Settlements
Israel's detractors insist that the settlements are "the greatest Israeli
obstacle to peace," (from recent New York Times editorial) but even if the
settlements were not there, they would be no peace. The political influence of
the Muslim clerics, especially Wahhabism, who all want a return to a pure Islam
incite violence against Israel. Jewish conspiracy theories and governments
moving away from traditional Islam guarantee this ongoing contempt for Israel
and the peace process.
Settlements are...
"as the Times noted in the same editorial, are the size of large towns,
and
some are approaching small cities. Ma'aleh Adumim, in the Judean desert east of
Jerusalem, has a population of 28,000; Ariel, in the foothills east of Tel
Aviv, 18,000; Betar Illit, an ultra-Orthodox community south of Jerusalem, has
passed 15,000. Standing in the center of such places, one has a view not of
hostile Palestinians but of Jewish houses, streets, parks, shops and businesses
as far as the eye can see.
(Hillel Halkin, - "Why the Settlements Should Stay: Making the West Bank
Judenrein is no way to bring peace" (May 29, 2002)
(OpinionJournal.Com)
MORE: http://pnews.org/art/12art/1IsCollective.shtml
