(VIDEO IN EXTENDED ARTICLE)

President Reuven Rivlin on Thursday evening 13 Cheshvan, at the President’s Residence, delivered an address at the swearing-in ceremony of incoming Supreme Court President, Justice Esther Hayut, and marking the conclusion of the term of office of outgoing Supreme Court President Justice Miriam Naor.

“The servants of the people and of the public are the backbone on which the covenant between the citizen and the state is based,” the President began, “The judges of Israel are appointed public servants. They are among the highest officials in charge of the public institutions. They are public servants with a long-term responsibility, which is embedded in the protection and preservation of the basic principles of the State of Israel. They are servants of the public, who do not have to answer to any authority other than the authority of the law, as stated in the Basic Law on the Judiciary. The outgoing and incoming presidents are public servants in the most comprehensive sense of the term”, The President said, and added, “They are the among the best and finest public servants the State of Israel has had. They both ascended the entire judicial ladder.”

The President bode farewell to the outgoing Supreme Court President, Miriam Naor, and said, “I was reminded of the headlines that accompanied you when you entered the position of Supreme Court President. There were some who warned of your close-knit ties to the national camp. There were others who praised your supposed conservatism. But you have always been true to yourself – you are direct; determined; sensitive; knowledgeable and profound. In your rulings and in your statements, you have always spoken the truth and have not given yourself or others around you any dispensations. You have always been loyal to what you are bound to by law. You have led the entire judicial system with impartial professionalism. Your absolute and only loyalty has been to the Israeli law book and to the values ​​of equality and justice underlined by the biblical Prophets of Israel.”

President Rivlin continued, “The seniority system used in Israel from ancient times has once again brought the worthiest of all to sit on the highest chair of the court. A judge who is a symbol and a model for a public servant, a judge who knows the power and limits of the law. A judge who knows and acknowledged the balance of the law and the limits of its reach.” The President added, “We, the citizens of Israel, have been blessed by the fact that the supreme judge of Israel is a woman whose sense of justice, integrity, and compromise are inseparably intertwined with the law applied during her trials. Your success is our own success, the success of each and every one of the citizens of Israel.”

“More recently, there have been fears that the justices have been dealing with judicial decisions that deviate from the interpretation of the law, which lead to interference in the act of legislation, or to an illegal invasion of government activities. More than this situation attests to a new and unacceptable trend, it points to a long-standing practice of taking the core issues that on the Israeli public agenda to the steps of the court. In these same issues in which the court has decided to rule in accordance with the duty imposed upon it and in accordance with the laws by which it abides, it is indeed close to reaching the boundaries of the legislature. I have expressed my opinion more than once as a Member of the Knesset, and later as Speaker of the Knesset, about the absence of the Basic Law on Legislation from our law books. I warned of the danger of the encroachment between the authorities, of the danger in seeing ‘everything as justiciable’ and on the other hand the danger of the concept that ‘everything is political’.”

The President addressed the Prime Minister, the Speaker of the Knesset, and the President of the Supreme Court, and said, “We are here today to celebrate a special day of the for the judicial system. Seated here today are the heads of the three branches of government. Prime Minister, Speaker of the Knesset, and President of the Supreme Court. I turn to you today, and from the bottom of my heart, and say to you: the disputes of the past few months, the public clash between the executive branch and the judicial branch have tested us. It is in your hands, you have the opportunity to make a serious change that will influence generations. It is in your power to work together and regulate the relations between the authorities and to anchor them in legislation. I do not mean legislation that comes from bending each other’s arms, nor out of suspicion. I am full of faith and confidence in your joint efforts to bring about proper regulation with full agreement and coordination, through mediation, and compromise. Only then can we desist from the abominable practice of ‘throwing hot potatoes’ and declaring ultimatums and threats between one authority and another. Only thus will we be able to serve the public loyally – to strengthen the public’s trust in institutions, to strengthen governance and the judicial system.”

The ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, outgoing Supreme Court President Miriam Naor, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked and incoming Supreme Court President Esther Hayut.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)