The judges of the High Court of Justice did a favor to the right-wing legal reform enthusiasts, with the judgment bomb they dropped this week. They helped the right get rid of the heaviest toxic load of this reform, the one that cast a heavy shadow over its motives and goals. Because correcting the corruptions of the Barak revolution is necessary, but it must not be It will be done from dark motives and will lead to results that will allow corruption, arbitrariness and distortion of Israeli society.
Supporters of the reform are especially advised to give themselves an account and dive into the 143 pages of the verdict.
They will discover facts there that were also presented by judges who are not "suspected" of leftism and membership in Aharon Barak's club.
For example, the opinion of the turban-wearing Dolev resident - Judge David Mintz, next to him is the religious Yael Wilner, and of course Alex Stein - who was tracked down by Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, precisely because of the anti-Baraki positions he expressed.
High Court of Justice. Contributor to reform, photo: Oren Ben Hakon
No matter what we think about left and right, about governance and legalization - we must not turn a blind eye to corruption and deception of the state.
One must not get lost in the forest of considerations for the preservation of the camp.
Please don't forget Ariel Sharon's lesson
It is clear from the verdict how Aryeh Deri deceived the Magistrate's Court in the plea deal he received.
He obtained a tremendous relief in his expected punishment through a false representation he presented to the president of the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court, according to which he retired from public life.
Therefore, a significant part of the panel judges, including Dafna Barak-Erez, who is not "suspected" of right-wing and conservatism, based their ruling, or at least part of it, on legal truths unrelated to the legal reform debates.
They pointed to obligations that exist in the law and in court rulings since the establishment of the state, and also in British law - fairness, good faith - legal obstacles.
In the last two weeks, statements by the late Judge Moshe Landoi, President of the Supreme Court, against Aharon Barak's revolution have been quoted a lot.
Well, Landau would sign that verdict with both hands.
By the way, precisely the fact that a judge like Barak-Erez avoided basing Deri's disqualification on the disputed reason of reasonableness, shows the beginning of the internalization of criticism, at least among some of the supreme judges;
An internalization that can greatly contribute to cooling the spirits and reaching agreements in the future.
Benjamin Netanyahu and Aryeh Deri.
There is a limit to every trick, photo: Olivier Fitossy/Flash90
The many good people in the right-wing camp should remember a central lesson from the Deri affair - there is a limit to every trick.
No matter what we think about left and right, about governance and legalization - we must not turn a blind eye to corruption and deception of the state.
One must not get lost in the forest of considerations of preserving the camp or achieving great goals.
Please don't forget the lesson of Ariel Sharon - the one who didn't stop at Edom long before he deceived the right-wing voters, and in the end uprooted Gush Katif to escape the threat of judgment.
It is too early to summarize all the conclusions and consequences of Deri's disqualification, but the right must adopt an approach that will only strengthen the just demand for reform.
On the one hand - no to the continued existence of the court as a supreme authority, which is also legislative and executive, but on the other hand - yes to a court that prevents corruption and irregularities, and is able to place a barrier in these matters for politicians.
This insight prompts a very important test for the right - the "Deri test", the test of practicality and integrity.
Another insight sheds light on the claims of the opponents of the reform, those who try to paint the just demands contained in it with colors of corruption.
Well, it turns out that it is possible to prevent state aid even without invalidating laws and extreme use of the reason of reasonableness.
That is, even without the court functioning as a parliament and a super-government, it is able to keep the hands of the state institutions clean.
The public outrage no longer makes it possible to be content with pointing the finger of blame at private businesses.
That is why it is time to firmly demand from the politicians to significantly reduce all taxes, and first of all the tax on fuel and cars
Supreme Court (archive).
Able to keep hands clean, photo: Oren Ben Hakon
Another conclusion concerns the way judges are appointed, which is at the heart of the legal reform.
Pay attention to the judges who were appointed at the initiative of Ayelet Shaked, who are definitely not among the circle of opinion partners of Aharon Barak.
Even these, being decent people and worthy judges, do not lend a hand to the greed and boundless control of politicians.
They will not prevent the Knesset and the government from performing their duties - in the areas of settlement, governance and the war on terrorism, but they will not lend a hand to the radicalization of the state.
This insight works both ways.
On the one hand, against the demonization that the left tries to bring to any change in the outline of the appointment of judges, and on the other hand - teaches the right that a procedure for selecting worthy judges must be preserved.
And a final insight is related to Benjamin Netanyahu.
If there was anyone who was still toying with the thought that it would be possible to stop the Prime Minister's trial, the verdict came and made it clear that no composition of the High Court would allow that to happen.
The High Court of Justice during the hearing of Deri's case. No panel of judges will stop Netanyahu's trial, Photo: Reuters/Archive
The fuel tax bluff
Two government announcements that were released this week finally removed the mask from the bluff of the fuel and car taxes, not to mention the bluff of those responsible for the cost of living.
Understanding the meaning of the messages reveals how the State of Israel systematically robs and robs its citizens, while pointing the finger of blame at the private sector.
The first announcement was issued by the Accountant General of the Ministry of Finance, according to which the country's debt-to-product ratio improved by 7.1% in the past year and amounted to 60.9%, compared to 68.0% in 2021. A second announcement was issued by the Minister of Finance himself, who lowered the price of fuel by 13 cents per liter through a reduction of tax known as excise duty.
To these two announcements should be added the fact that the state ended the year 2022 with a budget surplus of NIS 9.8 billion.
That is - it turns out that taxes can be lowered, and the State of Israel has enough resources to stop the trampling of citizens by the treasury.
It is important to understand the meaning of the numbers.
It turns out that despite the inflation, the global crisis, the ultra-orthodox burden and the difference in defense spending, the State of Israel collects far too much money from the tax-paying citizens, and still improves its coffers.
Our debt-to-GDP ratio is much better than that of the US and Japan, and even better than that of Germany.
Finance Minister Smotrich.
Good news, photo: Oren Ben Hakon
For so many years we have been oppressed by the claim that there is no escape.
That's why we pay three times more for vehicles than in the US, twice as much as in Europe. No, it's not the fault of the importers, but because of the disturbed taxes and the prevention of competition by the state. Then they impose excise taxes and VAT on us, which makes fuel prices rise to absurd levels.
And you have to understand that even this week there is still a lot of "blue" left that empties our pockets.
In 2021, the state's revenues from taxes on fuel and diesel reached NIS 26.5 billion.
The ultimate lie marketed by the treasury, throughout the years, is that the unreasonable taxation stems from the desire to take cars off the road and reduce air pollution.
Only this bluff finally collapsed when the Treasury partially lowered the customs discount imposed on electric and hybrid vehicles at the beginning of 2021, and again at the beginning of 2022. In general, reducing the number of cars will only be possible when alternative transportation solutions, which do not exist today, are proposed.
So once again it turns out that when the politicians are pressured by public opinion, which blames them for the unreasonable cost of living, it is possible to lower taxes.
It was done by the previous finance minister Lieberman, and now Smotrich.
The public outrage no longer makes it possible to be content with pointing the finger of blame at private businesses.
Therefore, the time has come to firmly demand from the politicians to significantly reduce all taxes, and above all the tax on fuel and cars.
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