By Steve Kramer
KFAR SABA, Israel — For a year and a half Israelis have suffered from two disputes that have divided the population, one a change in the power of the High Court (Hebrew acronym: Bagatz), and the other the rescue of our hostages and ultimate victory against Iran-backed Hamas. I’ll deal with the Court first.
Since the 1990s the High Court has taken on more and more power in Israel’s parliamentary democracy. Its policy of “judicial reform” was instituted by Justice Aharon Barak, but it was under the radar for years. Barak’s alterations made the point that “everything is justiciable.” This meant that cases could be brought to the Court by any Israeli citizen and the Court could rule on government policies, military decisions, and political matters. Also, it could overturn military and security decisions, including those related to settlements, targeted killings, and treatment of Palestinians.
Israel’s High Court is one of the most powerful courts in the world, giving its members the power to veto prospective justices of whom they disapprove. This is, in effect, tyranny of the minority, because unelected justices choose their replacements and the elected members of Knesset have no say in the matter. For new justices, “A friend brings a friend.” Critics argue that Barak gave unelected justices too much power over elected officials. Yet, the current Court is called ‘democratic’ and the alternative is called ‘undemocratic’.
Only a few years ago most Israelis agreed that the Court’s increasing powers needed to be revised to restore the balance among the Court, Knesset, and the executive functions of the Prime Minister. Many Israelis, including me, see the entire campaign today as one primarily targeting Prime Minister Netanyahu, who is abhorred by the ‘powers that be’, who have tremendous influence on Israeli society dating back to the (Socialist) Labor Party control of the government from 1948-1977.
The current government has had to deal with an extraordinary campaign against any change in the Court’s power. But just now a law was passed to give more power to the elected members of the Knesset while taking veto power over new appointments from the unelected justices. Will the Court try to negate the new law, a law which obviously affects its powers? We will see.
Now to the major demonstrations against the government’s recent return to fighting in Gaza.Why has the IDF returned to Gaza after defeating Hamas? Because Hamas has somewhat recovered and is refusing to negotiate the release of any more captives, alive or dead. The opponents to the resurgence of fighting feel that the 20-something live hostages will be killed during the fighting or will be hidden away, with the bodies of the more than 20 murdered Israeli captives. That is entirely possible. The government maintains that the only way to retrieve our hostages is by the power of our military. Previous aggressive attacks against Hamas have been the reason for the return of the majority of the captives. Negotiated prisoner exchanges have been largely ineffective. (See Note below.)
But Hamas is prepared to fight to the last Gazan to stay in power. It’s an enemy that doesn’t care how many of its citizens or fighters die. It has prepared them to die rather than live, starting with teaching of the children from pre-school on up to hate Israelis, hate Israel, and hate Jews. All of the UN institutions in their Arab communities have been instrumental in furthering that goal of the elimination of Israel. In fact, nearly the entire ‘human rights’ agenda is targeted at Israel. The Mideast Journal reports, “The United Nations has been criticized for its disproportionate focus on Israel, with a significant number of resolutions condemning the country. In 2023, Israel was the subject of 14 General Assembly resolutions, more than any other country. This trend has been consistent over the years, with Israel being the focus of a disproportionate number of resolutions compared to other nations.”
Prime Minister Netanyahu recently proclaimed that, “The combination of military and diplomatic pressure [on Israel’s enemies] is what brings results.” He is standing firm against the anti-Bibi machine, which promotes getting all the captives and bodies back by leaving Hamas in power! Recovering all of them will never happen because the captives are the only protection that Hamas has, even while the IDF is picking off its leaders, their replacements, and the replacements of the replacements.
Nearly 1,000 Israeli soldiers and police have died so far in this war. 191 civilians have been killed as of mid-January, 2025. How many more will be killed as a result of the release of imprisoned terrorists, the majority of whom will be recidivists? The worst example of this is that of the liquidated leader of the Hamas military forces, Yahya Sinwar. He was released among 1,026 others in a 2011 prisoner exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.
Whatever one thinks of Mr. Netanyahu, his policy, in my opinion, is the best option. We want the captives returned alive along with the bodies of the murdered Israelis. We want the Hamas leaders killed or exiled. We want to help as many Gazans who volunteer to leave to be helped to achieve that. (This policy has begun.) And we want Gaza to be rebuilt, but only if the Muslim jihadis are removed from the area.
Israel will continue to have problems even after the two described situations above are resolved. However, Israel is an amazing country, whose citizens are indomitable. Israel will win against Hamas (and Iran); some of Israel’s less Zionistic citizens will leave; but more Zionists from other countries will make Aliya; a new generation of political and business leaders will emerge after our victory; and Israel’s future is bright!
Note: 251 Israelis and others were kidnapped on 10/7/23. Israel has paid an exorbitant price so far for the release of 191 captives, a small number of whom were rescued by the IDF. The most recent prisoner exchange was three Israelis for 369 Palestinians in early February. Six captives were released on 2/23/25, but the release of more than 600 Palestinians did not occur because negotiations had broken down. Of the 59 hostages still held by Hamas, only 24 are thought to be alive. Most of the families of hostages as well as other Israelis want to stop fighting, leave Gaza, and negotiate for the release of the remaining captives.
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Steve Kramer is an American-Israeli freelance writer based in Kfar Saba, Israel.