The government of the State of Israel and its Supreme Court this past week demonstrated the very worst disregard for the laws of the land and the related biblical injunctions in their responses to requests by certain groups for special permission to not be held to the same war time restrictions that govern the rest of us.

To recap, ever since the start of the current war on February 28th, issues around the gathering of individuals, whether in public spaces, schools, or houses of worship (i.e. ALL houses of worship regardless of religion), were controlled and continue to be controlled by the Home Front Command of the IDF.  This is as is should be as there needs to be one unified source of such regulations in order not to confuse the public.

For most of that time until this very moment, gatherings of individuals were limited to a maximum of 50 people, provided they can reach a standard protected space in the time available to reach shelter.  In addition, the beaches of Israel were totally closed to the public, sadly a rule seemingly observed mostly in the breach from what we see on news reports.

Nevertheless, last week the authorities distinguished themselves in the worst possible manner by yielding to group pressure on the one hand while, on the other hand, failing even to enforce the law when it was blatantly being violated.

Three cases will illustrate the point.

First, a group of anti-war protestors represented by The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) petitioned the Supreme Court for the right to demonstrate against the war by scheduling gatherings of significantly more than 50 people.   The claim was that the people’s right to protest was being violated by this arbitrary limit.  Supreme Court head Judge Isaac Amit, in granting permission, said that war does not negate the right to protest.

Following the court order, the IDF Home Front Command and Israel Police gave the anti-war protesters permission to rally around the country Saturday evening, with strict restrictions on the number of participants. The allowable number was between 200-1,000 depending on the city.

In Leviticus 24:22, it is expressly written: “You are to have the same standard of law for the foreign resident and the native; for I am the LORD your God.”  The meaning is clear, that there should be one law for everyone.  Logic would dictate that if it is not safe for most of us to be at events with more than 50 people, then it is not safe for anyone to be at such events, and yet…….

Second, a group of local religious leaders, including Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch, the Rabbi of the Western Wall, petitioned the high court regarding wartime attendance restrictions at that holy site during the Iran conflict.  As everywhere else in Israel, attendance all month was limited to 50 people as there is relatively easy access to the sheltered area left of the Wall itself.  After hearing the petition, Israel’s High Court increased the Western Wall prayer quota from 50 to 100 people this week.  Rabbis argued that allowing only 50 worshippers while permitting large protests at other locations was discriminatory.

The argument of the Rabbis is a cogent one and has merit.  But, to my knowledge, there is no basis in law that demands the court making a second bad decision by using the first bad decision as a basis on which to support such an argument.

In addition, for those of us who defended the decision of the Government of Israel not to permit Palm Sunday services at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher using the logic of Leviticus 24:22 which demands that one law apply to everyone, allowing an exception for the Kotel makes the Palm Sunday decision look like prejudice against Christians, does it not?

Third, on Sunday of this week, over 1,000 Orthodox men gathered in the large study hall of the Machnovka Yeshiva in Bnei Bak to hear a speech by Rabbi Dov Lando, the spiritual leader of the Knesset’s Degel HaTorah party, despite the Home Front Command’s current restrictions on the size of public events during wartime.

A spokesman for Rabbi Lando insisted that at the event, “both the rabbi and the audience are situated in protected spaces.”  Yet a picture of the event itself clearly shows the hall with floor to ceiling windows running the length of the room on both sides proving that this was not a protected space by any stretch of the imagination.

To be clear the Israel Police reported that an initial request for a permit for an outdoor event was rejected and, even though the actual event was held indoors, nobody was arrested for being in violation of the law, not the organizers and not the attendees.

Oddly enough, Rabbi Lando’s mass event was held only a day after Degel HaTorah chairman Moshe Gafn, of Rabbi Lando’s own party, accused the High Court of Justice of issuing an illegal ruling, after the court handed down an interim order effectively forbidding law enforcement from forcibly dispersing anti-war protests of fewer than 600 attendees at Tel Aviv’s Habima Square, and fewer than 150 attendees in Jerusalem, Haifa, and Kfar Saba.

All three cases reflect a serious imbalance in how the law was applied, or not applied at all.  Sadly, these three instances demonstrate that there is equal treatment under the law but some receive more equal treatment than others, depending on who is making the request.

This is, of course, in direct violation of the dictum found in Leviticus 19:15 where it is stated: “Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.”  In other words, it should not matter who you know in order to be treated fairly.

It is a sad day in this country when, once again, the courts and the government make a mockery of the law by not applying it equally.  Deuteronomy 16:19-20 instructs us to pursue justice alone and not bend to outside infliuences, which can pervert the law.  It says: “Do not pervert justice or show partiality….Follow justice and justice alone, so that you may live and possess the land the Lord your God is giving you.”

For those of us who believe, being able to live here is a sacred trust granted to us by the God to whom we swear allegiance.  We dare not damage that trust in order for a select few to get to demonstrate, go to the Kotel or hear the words of a sage and do so by violating the law.  The degradation of our judicial norms for the many is too high a price to pay for the enjoyment of the few.

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)