Settlers erect golden statue of Supreme Court president
A golden statue of Supreme Court President Miriam Naor was placed in front of the court in Jerusalem overnight and removed Thursday morning.
The statue was erected by the right-wing Derech Chaim organization, which promotes legislation that is in accordance with Jewish religious teachings. It is based in the settlement of Yitzhar. The NGO is known for advancing legislation and action to reduce the authority of the Supreme Court and against some of its rulings.
Derech Chaim recently began a campaign with the title “Enough with the Supreme Court Dictatorship.”
In a statement that was released after the statue was taken down by the municipality, the NGO said it is about time to regulate the balance of power between the legislative branch, the Knesset; and the judicial branch, the Supreme Court.
“The Supreme Court and President Naor are disconnected from the people,” the statement reads. “Despite the fact that Israel is allegedly a democratic country, we are in a situation in which the reins of government are in the hands of the High Court, and that happened without even asking the people.”
“The Supreme Court assumed to itself powers that do not belong to it, in what was dubbed the ‘Judicial Revolution’” of the 1990s, it adds.
This week the NGO was protesting against Monday’s Supreme Court ruling that the government cannot indefinitely detain thousands of migrants who entered the country illegally.
Last Saturday evening, around a hundred people protested in front of Naor’s home in the Rehavia neighborhood of Jerusalem. They held signs saying: “The Supreme Court is against the people, the people is against the Supreme Court.”
Naor’s term as the Supreme Court president ends on October 26, her 70th birthday, and Justice Esther Hayut is set to replace her.