In a hearing held on Monday, the High Court rejected the state's arguments and decided to expand the Law of Return to apply to the widow of the son or grandson of a Jew and she can immigrate to Israel, even if she and her husband are not Jewish. The ruling was passed by an expanded panel of seven judges, three of whom in a minority opinion supported the rejection of the petitions. These are the group of conservative justices Noam Sohlberg, David Mintz and Yael Willner.
The High Court of Justice had already expanded the Law of Return in the past, and the ruling was widely criticized at the time, and a request was even filed by the state for a further hearing on the ruling. In today's hearing, Justice Sohlberg wrote in the minority opinion that "the main purpose of the law and the section – encouraging Jews to immigrate to Israel and providing a solution for those of them who intermarried – does not, as a rule, exist in the widow of a person entitled to return who wishes to immigrate to Israel; The other purposes of the clause are also fulfilled by the widow to a lesser extent, if at all."
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Today's Supreme Court decision on expanding the Law of Return is a serious mistake.
Also on her merits, but mostly in her timing.
This is not the time to issue controversial decisions on the core issues of the state's Jewish identity.
At a time when all the people and elected officials go out of their way to reduce disputes and avoid dealing with issues...
— Simcha Rothman (@rothmar) November 13, 2023
One person who did not like the Supreme Court's decision was Constitution Committee Chairman MK Simcha Rotman, who tweeted after the decision that "the Supreme Court's decision today regarding the expansion of the Law of Return is a serious mistake. Also on her merits, but mostly in her timing. This is not the time to issue controversial decisions, on the side of a voice, on core issues of the Jewish identity of the state."
Rotman added, "At a time when the entire nation and elected officials go out of their way to reduce disputes and avoid dealing with sensitive issues, it would have been reasonable to expect that the Supreme Court would also contribute its part to the war effort by avoiding decisions that arouse difficult feelings among a large and significant public, and among fighters who at this very moment give their lives for what unites us. The mission of the entire State of Israel must be unity and victory. It is unfortunate and disappointing that the justices of the Supreme Court did not rise to the magnitude of the hour."
MK Simcha Rothman, photo: credit at the bottom of the article
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