Tomorrow in the High Court: Is the Detention Law on Its Way to Being Struck Down?

Attorney Yoram Sheftel argues that the High Court's authority to strike down laws stems from Aharon Barak's constitutional revolution, not from Knesset authorization. Ahead of the hearing on the detention freeze law, he criticizes the High Court's conduct and proposes a constitutional crisis as a solution.

Attorney Yoram Sheftel was interviewed by Ido Tauber on "Yoman Tsohorayim" and argued that the High Court's authority to strike down laws rests on Aharon Barak's constitutional revolution, not on explicit Knesset authorization. According to him, Barak established through legal bullying that elected officials are not qualified to set moral norms, unlike the "enlightened" Supreme Court justices. Sheftel cited protocols from the 1990s showing that most members of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee opposed including the value of equality in Basic Law. He claims the High Court is expected to strike down both the detention law and the gender segregation law in advanced degrees. The only solution, he says, is a planned constitutional crisis where the Knesset and government refuse to implement the High Court's ruling. The detention freeze law aims to prevent arrests of yeshiva students and establish criteria for "Torah study as his profession," similar to exemptions for athletes.