Exactly a month and a half after the September 11 attacks, President Bush signed a new law: the "Patriot Act" gave the American authorities extensive tools to prevent terrorism, some of which have become controversial over the years, such as the facilitation of surveillance of citizens suspected of terrorism, tightening of border security and monitoring of financial transactions .
But the criticism or support for the law hardly changes, because the important act happened the moment Bush picked up the pen: the US realized that it had gone through a reality-changing event, and its legislature hastened to act to adapt the legal system to the new reality.
A long series of laws were enacted following those days.
Laws that regulated the fight against terrorism, compensation for victims and the treatment of countries that finance terrorism.
Our great friend hastened to establish a fund, from which she still pays victims of terrorism who claim their rights - from the victims of Iraq and Afghanistan to the former diplomats who were taken hostage in Tehran in 1979.
Not everything should be learned from America, but in this case it is useful to learn about the importance of the legislature in times of crisis, and this is an especially important lesson in a country that has had a shaky year in regards to the governing authorities.
In one of the puzzling moments that occurred during the reform demonstrations, MK Naama Lazimi stepped into the Ayalon lanes, surrounded by security guards. There is room for many types of criticism of this step, but it mainly expresses the complete confusion regarding the role of the Knesset as a legislative authority. , hundreds of thousands of citizens took to the streets to support one or the other. They spoke passionately about the separation of powers, but actually saw before their eyes only two of the three: the executive and the judges. The legislative branch did give the lead in the committees, but continued to be transparent in the new discourse on the balance of powers. Is it any wonder that a member of the Knesset is going to demonstrate instead of fulfilling her role?
The war crisis dwarfed the reform crisis, and as Churchill said - a good crisis should not be missed.
Not that there is anything "good" in the current situation, but it can at least remind the legislative authority of its role: to make sure that our system of laws fits the new reality.
Today, the State of Israel does not have a sufficient legal infrastructure to deal with lawsuits by victims of terrorism, and this will be proven by dozens and perhaps hundreds of victims of the second intifada, who are still being dragged from discussion to discussion, some of them for more than 20 years, in an attempt to obtain a modicum of justice.
October 7 is our September 11.
The circle of wounded and survivors is unprecedented.
In the last test I conducted, 33 (!) families lost both parents.
Thousands of people are going to demand, and with absolute justice, various compensations - loss of working capacity, disability, mental injury, property damage and so on.
There are two options: that these funds will come from the state coffers (National Insurance, Ministry of Defense, etc.) - that is, from our taxes - or that Israel will finally decide to collect them from the Palestinian Authority and Hamas.
This is a completely practical possibility, which already has precedents, but they were obtained in the courts and not established by law.
There are two options: that these funds come from the state coffers (National Insurance, Ministry of Defense, etc.) - that is, from our taxes - or that Israel finally decides to collect them from the Palestinian Authority and Hamas
Relative to the country that passed this week in first reading complete nonsense like the "Unity Day bill", we are lagging behind in regards to the flood of lawsuits that the country will face in a short time, and this is a great injustice that hurts first and foremost those who have already been greatly affected.
The time has come for our state of terrorism to regulate by law the amount of compensation that is due to each type of victim, and the manner in which the state plans to collect it from its enemies.
The political discourse in Israel silences almost every other discourse.
The ongoing discussion about the fate of the government makes us forget the more important thing - the functioning of the Knesset in the present time.
If our legislature manages to grasp the magnitude of the hour and act accordingly - this could be, as Churchill said in this case as well, his most beautiful hour.
were we wrong
We will fix it!
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