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We have an apartment in an area called the German Colony because it was settled in the 1870-1890s by German Protestants from Bavaria. They were an industrious and knowledgeable people and brought some technical and business modernizations to the area ie set up first tourism system by writing the first tour of Palestine in German, of course, used steam engines to run flour mill; valued family and education and didn't proselytize. During the 30s the young people became Nazis so the British expelled the entire group in 1943. The area is known for the beautiful stone architecture of the houses. Cremieux was an early (1800s) French zionist.

New address: Rechov Izhak A. Cremieux 6A, Apt 2
Jerusalem 93108
cell phone while in Israel: 972-050-843=0735




January 26, 2006
A few days ago , we did our tourist thing—visits and tours in English of the Supreme Court (Bet Hamispot) and the Parliament (Knesset). Took but #9 from Ramban street but should have taken #28 just down the street on Emik Refaim)

The Supreme Court building is a beautifully designed and realized building in modern architecture. It is located near the Knesset building. The building was designed by brother and sister architects, Ram Karmi and Ada Karmi-Melamede of Tel Aviv. (www.court.gov.il) I’ll just go into a few highlights. The Rochschilds wanted the Country to have a nice building so they paid for it.

There was a large foyer from which you enter each of the five courtrooms. On one side of the foyer are white walls and pyramidal skylights. The walls where you enter the courtrooms are very high and made of golden Jerusalem stone. At the floor level are narrow strips of mirrors which makes the stone wall look as if it is very deep ie many stories below the floor level—symbolizes the depth of justice.

The courtroom we visited (Bet) included architectural elements of the three main influences on the Israel justice system. Above the dais where three judges sit is the menorah which is the emblem of the state of Israel. The ceiling is gothic in shape representing the Christian influence. The back wall is a wooden lattice recalling the Turkish influence. On the right were dockets for defendents. On the left were seats for the press. Attorneys sit at a curved table facing the judges. There is a law clerk and reporter at a small desk in front of the judges.

The legal system of Israel owes most to the British system imposed during the mandate (1920-1948 approx). It also draws empirically on American, Turkish, and Jewish law. There are no juries—the guidelines for the “peer” part of a jury of peers in a country as diverse as Israel would boggle the best legal minds. Instead, each case is heard by three professional judges. Only one appeal is allowed. The lowest courts are the magisterial; they hear cases involving no sentence longer than 7 years or money over 2 ½ million sheckels. The district courts hear cases over that limit. Appeals are usually to the next court level; occasional cases go through two levels of appeals. A person who appeals to the Supreme Court is not required to have an attorney and may write his own appeal in his own handwriting.

One of the most famous cases was a direct hand-written one page appeal by a woman who wanted to be a pilot in the Israel Defense Force—she had been turned down because of gender. The Court upheld her case and she became a pilot.

There are fifteen justices of the Supreme Court. They are appointed by a committee which is part politicians and part professional (i.e., attorneys without political office). They retire at age 70 but usually stay on at the Court in a different capacity. The Chief Justice position comes with seniority. There are three female justices and one Arab Christian. Because Israel does not have a written constitution (like Great Britain), the Supreme Court does not have the right of judicial review; however Israel does have some guidelines which the Court adheres to and which provide guidance to the Knesset when it enacts laws. There have been two laws annulled by the Court.

Part of the effort to achieve justice is inherent in the design of the building. Lawyers enter on one floor where their library is. Justices enter on the floor above where their library is located. This is an attempt to prevent fraterization and good old boy interactions.

This may be more than you wanted to know about Israel’s legal system? U want to know about the Building. But Stan says no, you want to know about the water sculpture in the garden in the shape of a long line reflecting limited water in the desert and the Biblical verse, “ Truth shall spring up from the earth and justice will be reflected from the Heaven.”

On to the Knesset. Israel has a multi-party parliamentary system. The presidency is largely ceremonial. Most of the executive political power resides with the Prime Minister. Elections will be held February 10. People vote for a party not for a person. The party has a stratified list of potential Knesset members. The number of Knesset members from each party is determined by the percentage of votes for that party. A coalition of parties will work out who becomes Prime Minister. Elections are not geographical.

The Knesset building has a Reception Hall with three gigantic tapestries designed by Marc Chagall as well as some mosaics designed by him. The very beautiful and moving tapestries were made at the Globlin (sp?) factory in France. Security is tight—had to leave my purse in a guarded cloak room.

Jan. 24 Friday: We went to Friday night services at Kol Han Shama which is a Reform Synagogue near where we live( at end of Emek Refaim and around the corner). Very big congregation. The entire 1 1/2 hour service was sung using Appalachian sounding tunes. It was difficult to follow the service as it was entirely in Hebrew. How different from the US.

Jan 25. We want to the Conservative Congregation, Beit Knesset Moreshet Yisrael where Stan had an aliya. The Cantor Ahuva Batz was terrific and I liked the music. Stan says she is incredible with voice like an angel and a smile to match. Rabbi Adam Frank gave an interesting Devar Torah on Gaza.