Supreme Court chief: Holocaust taught us to guard individual rights, state values

Speaking at a ceremony marking the close of Holocaust Remembrance Day on Tuesday, Supreme Court President Esther Hayut stressed the need to defend the fundamental values of the Jewish state and learn the lessons of the Holocaust.

“From the events of the Holocaust and the great crisis that befell our people, we learned to remind ourselves every day and every hour that our judicial work is fully immersed in the love of man — of every person however they are,” said Hayut at the ceremony in the Ghetto Fighters’ House Museum.

“We learned that we must stand guard to protect individual rights and the fundamental values of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, which is the protective force of the Jewish people,” Hayut said.

“If Jewish resistance to enemies and the choosing of life are a school for the human spirit — we will be its students, and the lessons we have learned will be remembered, preserved and passed on from generation to generation,” Hayut concluded, to a smattering of applause.

Despite concerns, the events of Holocaust Remembrance Day passed without political sparring or outbursts, notwithstanding the deep divisions plaguing the nation — with the exception of Likud MK Boaz Bismuth being denounced and jeered at a Tel Aviv synagogue. But politicians and bereaved family members are concerned that next week’s Memorial Day and Independence Day ceremonies will be marred by dispute and protests.

As the country rages in debate over the government’s judicial overhaul plan, Hayut herself has emerged as a particularly contentious figure. In February a Likud MK even accused Hayut of being responsible for a deadly terror ramming.

In an unusually fiery speech in January, Hayut said the coalition’s plan to overhaul the judiciary would deal a “fatal blow” to the country’s democratic identity, and give the Knesset a “blank check” to pass any legislation it pleases.

Over the weekend, Likud Minister David Amsalem stated that Hayut should be charged with “an attempted coup,” accusing her of leading the protest movement against the government’s judicial overhaul with former prime minister Ehud Barak and former Supreme Court president Aharon Barak.

“Everyone who led this protest, including Ehud Barak, Aharon Barak and the Supreme Court president, are people who should be charged with an attempted coup,” Amsalem said.

While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a pause last month in the judicial overhaul legislation until at least the Knesset summer caucus, mass protests have continued weekly against the coalition’s legislative agenda, with many expressing skepticism that the ongoing negotiations at the President’s Residence are being conducted in good faith.