Ya'alon Slams High Court Judges Over Police Move at Protest

Former defense minister Moshe “Bogie” Ya'alon launched an unusually sharp attack on Israel's legal and judicial establishment after Jerusalem police tried to stop him from speaking at a protest against what he called the government of “messianists, draft evaders and the corrupt.” According to Ya'alon, police confiscated the sound system, claiming it was forbidden to use a loudspeaker on Shabbat.

Ya'alon said that when a lawyer at the scene asked under what law they were acting, since no such law exists and previous rulings allow freedom of speech and protest on Shabbat, the officers answered, “We received orders from above.” He directed part of his criticism at the Supreme Court justices, accusing them of delaying a petition before them, backed by the attorney general’s legal opinion, over whether a convicted offender, Kahanist and provocateur can serve as the minister in charge of the police.

Ya'alon said he still managed to speak to the demonstrators despite the attempt to silence him. He argued that the court’s continued hesitation, together with earlier decisions such as approving sensitive security appointments by a prime minister who, in his words, proved that “his personal survival overrides the good of the state,” is harming democracy.

In his closing remarks, Ya'alon said the judges are “cementing” the transformation of Israel from democracy into one-man rule. He ended with the appeal “Where are you!?” and said the public will not stop, adding that “the majority in the country will continue to fight to save the state from ruin.”