MKs convinced attack on Beinish result of incitement

Despite the fact that the attack on Supreme Court President Dorit Beinish was apparently motivated by Pini Cohen's private dispute with the judicial system, members of the political establishment believe that that the public atmosphere which gave way to statements from righ-wing elements and the haredi camp has paved the way to the attack on the judge.

Most accusations were naturally made by elements in Labor and Kadima which have consistently championed the Supreme Court. Knesset Member Ronnie Bar-On (Kadima) said, "Netanyahu's deafening silence in the face of wild attacks by his ministers on the Supreme Court in the last year has been shattered today in an ugly way and has blemished the face of the entire Israeli society.

"This is shameful violence whose motives were known and whose representatives in the government gained all of the newspapers' headlines through it."

Cohen escorted out of court Wednesday (Photo: Amit Shabi)

The last decade has seen the increase of harsh attacks by politicians and public figures on the Supreme Court, particularly in its capacity as High Court of Justice. The trend was initially led by members of the ultra-Orthodox community, while in recent years the de-legitimization of the court has been made by extended right-wing and religious circles.

The acute disagreements between the court and former Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann and current minister Yaakov Ne'eman have been particularly prominent in recent years.

The most recent dispute involved Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz who blamed Supreme Court judges of "populist, lawless rulings." The High Court's ruling pertaining to the opening of Route 443 for Palestinian traffic prompted fierce criticism.

Welfare and Social Services Minister Isaac Herzog believes that the incident on Wednesday wasn't disconnected from the current reality and noted, "One cannot ignore the feeling that the attack on Beinish is a result of ongoing relentless incitement."

Eitan Cabel (Labor) also addressed the occurrence and called upon all MKs to condemn the attack. "Whoever slings mud at the Supreme Court, the Knesset, and the cabinet is responsible for the fact that shoes are being thrown at the Supreme Court president," he said.