On Monday September 22 the Israeli Supreme Court struck down key sections of the Infiltrators Law that made it possible to detain illegal immigrants without trial for up to one year. Immigration worldwide is on the rise and Israel is the nearest western address for illegal infiltrators. Israel has been left without any defense against the renewed waves of immigration from the Egyptian border.
Persistent monitoring by attorneys from the Legal Forum of activities of incitement to violence against residents of Judea and Samaria led to unprecedented criticism by Judge Nava Bechor against the Attorney General's Office and its biased and selective treatment of offences committed by left and right wing activists.
The activities of political movements like the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) around the world to boycott the State of Israel and its citizen's has the potential to cause enormous damage, therefore in 2011 the Knesset voted to limit these types of activities. The "Boycott Law" was passed in order to protect the rights of the Israeli public whose rights have been violated or may be violated in the future due to the boycott.
This past Sunday the Legal Forum for Israel displayed once again the necessity of its activities to defend the interests State of Israel.
At a time when Israel faces war and the reality of a difficult security situation, it is hard not to recall the days prior to the disengagement from Gush Katif nine years ago. At that time rockets were being fired from Gaza, Israeli citizens were forced to remain in shelters, and there was talk of a better sense of security.
The absurdity is that late Prime Minister Ariel Sharon spoke at the time of a safer Israel once it separated from Gaza, and today we are talking about a safer Israel once we enter Gaza. The words are the same words, but the actions fundamentally different.
On Tuesday April 1st another hearing took place in the Supreme Court regarding the legality of the illegal immigrant's law. Previously the Supreme Court stated that the government must shorten the term of imprisonment it had set for three years. This decision has numerous implications for the future of the State of Israel: demographics, Israel's status in the world and its financial resources.
During the last four years the Legal Forum for the Land of Israel has been acting to prevent the transfer of funds to the Palestinian Authority. This week, Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz announced that the Finance Ministry will offset the VAT monies from the PA’s debts to Israel. This step has been taken in response to the one sided action taken by the Arabs in the UN in order to be recognized as a non-member state.
What did the Finance Minister mean regarding offsetting the debts and what are the money transfers that the Legal Forum objects to so strongly?
The Legal Forum has requested that the Attorney General re-examine his legal opinion preventing the government from bringing the Levy Report for deliberation due to the up-coming elections.
Following the dissolution of the Knesset, the Attorney General wrote a guidance document entitled "Government Decisions During the Interim Period” to the State Secretary stating that after passing the law regarding the dissolution of the Knesset, the government is limited in operations, and decision making”.
There are many new things beginning with the government that is taking shape, however undoubtedly the greatest expectation is the change in the Defense Ministry and the appointment of a new Minister.
Above everything else, the Defense Minister is considered the sovereign in Judea and Samaria and it is our hope that the new Minister Moshe Yaalon will act to protect the national interests in these areas and protect the rights of the Jewish citizens residing there.
In recent weeks there have been many public calls against acts of vandalism and violation of property defined as "Price Tag" incidents. These acts are criminal and the culprits must be brought to justice. However it seems that the policy is to use harsh measures unnecessarily.
It began with Justice Minister Tzipi Livni's statement that "Price Tag" incidents are to be classified as acts of terrorism and should therefore be included in the Terror Prevention Ordinance.
As these lines are written we are informed that a ceasefire has been called, however, as we know from past experiences it is now more than ever that we must be on our guard and ensure that our leaders remember that it is their duty to strengthen the state of Israel’s Jewish identity and ensure that Israel remains strong against its enemies.
As the Hamas attacks on Israel entered their second week and rockets have fallen in central Israel the Legal Forum has been very active in handling various urgent issues regarding the escalating circumstances.
Since its establishment in 2005, the Legal Forum for the Land of Israel has set as one of its major objectives to act to ensure sound government.
Recent developments in the political system have displayed the continuing malfunctioning of the State Attorney office in handling the cases before them.
In recent years the issue of Israeli organizations receiving donations from foreign entities has been debated due to the large number of cases where post-Zionist organizations acting against the State of Israel receive funding from abroad.
In Israel every bill is authorized by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation before being voted on in the Knesset. The Committee is comprised of several ministers, and is headed by the Justice Minister. This Committee meets once a week following the Cabinet meeting and examines new bill proposals; both governmental proposals and ones proposed by Knesset members. This committee presents the government's viewpoint to the bill.
On Monday March 3, 2014 a conference was held in the Knesset on the subject of rule of law - the appropriate balance between the legislative, the executive and the Supreme Court.
Former Justice Minister Professor Daniel Friedman discussed several problematic issues in the Supreme Court's conduct which affect the behavior of other governmental authorities with regard to political appointments or the authority of governmental officials.
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