Naor
Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg
Rivlin, Naor tackle American anti-Semitism
Addressing Israeli diplomats posted to North America, the presidents of the state and the Supreme Court address the worrying trend in the US.
President Reuven Rivlin and Supreme Court President Miriam Naor addressed the recent outbreak of anti-Semitism in the United States in speeches to the heads of Israeli diplomatic missions in North America on Tuesday night in Jerusalem at the President's Residence.
Rivlin said, "The Jewish people certainly for generations and for generations to come, cannot allow such phenomena to pass unchecked. When we say 'Never Again,' it means anywhere in the world.
President Rivlin (Photo: Gil Yohanan)
"I think the issue of anti-Semitism is an issue that the State of Israel and its representatives must stand unequivocally against, shoulder to shoulder. I also want to express my appreciation to President Trump for his clear words last week, and for his clear position. These things need to be repeated and reiterated without hesitation."
The heads of mission told Rivlin of the damage to the State of Israel's relations with the Reform and Conservative movements due to its failure to honor its agreement with the Women of the Wall. They explained that this damage was seriously interfering with the connection between the Jews of the Diaspora and the Jewish state, coming up at every meeting. According to the diplomats, the Israeli government is failing to address this fracture.
The president commented, "Amongst American Jewry there is an uneasy feeling, and I am aware of this: a feeling that results naturally from disagreements between the State of Israel under any given government and between the USA."
In such cases, the president continued, America's support for Israel did not come from a political view but was based in values, and it would remain as such even if from time to time there were differences of opinion. "The partnership between the citizens of the United States and the State of Israel is a moral symbol, a beacon carried by the American Jewish community."
Supreme Court President Naor (Photo: Gil Yohanan)
The president of the Supreme Court drew a connection between anti-Semitism and racism in the world on one hand and the need to maintain the independence of the court she leads on the other.
"Anti-Semitism—persecution of Jews qua Jews—took shape and spread throughout history, its terrible culmination being the most unbearable crime in human history: the Holocaust, in which a third of our people was destroyed. In the dark days of the Nazi regime in Germany, the judiciary collaborated with anti-Semitism and extermination."
Naor said that the path to destroy the Jewish people in Europe was paved when their rights as citizens and human beings were taken from them and they were defined as subhuman: "When they paint a swastika at the entrance of a kindergarten, upend tombstones in Jewish cemeteries and threaten community centers with explosions—the meaning of these events is that we are experiencing an outbreak of anti-Semitism that was dormant and hidden and now has appeared like a genie from its bottle."
The Supreme Court president continued that defending human rights and the rights of the minority is one of the most important lessons to be drawn from the history of the Jewish people. Safeguarding equality is the responsibility of every branch of the government, Naor contended, and ensuring its realization is the duty of the judiciary, specifically that of the Supreme Court.
