Israel Supreme Court President Beinisch Says Court Must Be Removed from Political Disputes

Israel Supreme Court President Beinisch Says Court Must Be Removed from Political Disputes

President of the Israel Supreme Court, Dorit Beinisch, delivered the keynote address at the opening ceremony of the 73rd Board of Governors meetings of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, June 6, 2010. Justice Beinisch was one of ten distinguished figures to receive an honorary doctorate degree from the Hebrew University in yesterday's convocation ceremony. The other recipients were Dr. Marcos Aguinis, Evgeny Kissin, Prof. Donald Lynden-Bell CBE, Prof. Walter Mischel, Prof. Peter A. Diamond, Prof. Peter Sarnak, Ira Lee Sorkin, Prof. Peter Brown and Ronit Matalon.

In her keynote address, Beinisch addressed the cultivation of higher education, saying, "Israel doesn't have natural resources or natural treasures. Our wealth is in the intellectual and scientific capital that we can produce among us, and without which we can't progress. Israel's achievements in the field of science, in the fields of intellectual and cultural creativity, in the fields of economics and judicial creativity are essential assets which cannot be forsaken, because they form the firm and essential bedrock of our existence. One should not take for granted the fact that Israeli scientists have made impressive achievements on an international scale, nor the fact that our hi-tech exports have become renowned in the world. All these are the fruits of investment and fostering of potential that exists among us."

On the position of the Supreme Court, Beinisch said, "In view of the role that the Supreme Court plays in Israeli democracy, there is a need to remove it from the disputes that take place in the political arena." She further added, "We judges don't profess to impose our values, rather to make every effort to integrate into the law the values of the society in which we live and to adapt the legal solutions to the principles of the system of fundamental values of a democracy." Beinisch also called for allocations of resources to enable the legal system to fulfill its objectives.

President of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Prof. Menahem Ben-Sasson said in the ceremony, "Budgetary cuts can reduce operating hours of the library and labs but not the sense of mission of the researchers and their motivation to seek the truth and to create the foundation of knowledge for their generation." Prof. Ben-Sasson added, "It's hard to place limits on the freedom of academic creativity, on the search for knowledge of truth and creation of knowledge. Freedom of scientists is a freedom that society depends on. This is the essential starting point for understanding higher education. The achievements of the world stem from it. We want to prevent the brain drain and return the best of our researchers to Israel."

346 Ph.D. degrees were also conferred on students during the ceremony – the largest ever number of Ph.D. recipients in Israel.