It ordered the West Bank security fence rerouted because it cut through private Palestinian property. It overturned state-backed discrimination against Arab Israelis on issues of land distribution and ruled against the Israel Defense Forces' use of military methods deemed to cause "disproportionate" harm to Palestinian civilians. It overturned Israel’s ban against political parties said to be too "radical." And just last week it ruled that the Tal Law, which grants exemptions to haredi Orthodox Israelis …More

Israel’s High Court of Justice Tuesday voted to abolish the controversial Tal Law, which enables ultra-Orthodox men to dodge military service. A majority six to three ruling by a panel headed by outgoing Chief Justice Dorit Beinisch found that the law is unconstitutional and cannot be extended in its current form. The Knesset ratified the Deferral of Service for Yeshiva Students for Whom Torah Is Their Profession Law, or Tal Law for short, in 2002. The measure’s original intent was to encourage …More

Boston police are on high alert for an extremist attack on the city’s Israeli consulate, with tensions between Israel and Iran on the rise. [Boston Herald] In a farewell press conference, Israeli Chief Justice Dorit Beinisch voiced her belief that democracy will prevail over efforts to limit the court’s authority. [Israel Hayom] Jewish day schools across the country are enacting bold measures to boost enrollment, which has been dropping at schools outside the ultra-Orthodox community. Hyman Brand …More

Robert S. Wistrich wonders if there could ever be a second Holocaust, pointing to those that believe the atrocity was nothing more than a “Zionist plot.” [Jerusalem Post] Is the taboo against anti-Semitism being eroded? Lee Smith asks what happened to our vigilance against anti-Semitic remarks. [Tablet] Natan Lerner looks at Holocaust denial through a legal lens and in terms of freedom of expression. [Haaretz] Israeli Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch said that the Holocaust taught …More

Israel's Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch blasted what she called a recent “delegitimization campaign” against the Supreme Court. Beinisch blamed politician’s Knesset members and ministers during her speech at a conference of the Israeli Association of Public Law at the Dead Sea. Beinisch, who is set to retire next February, referred to a series of bills that aim to change the way justices are appointed. "Over the past five years I warned against the trend to harm the Supreme Court, to …More