LIFE IN ISRAEL
AUDREY'S CLEANERS • AUDREY'S CLEANERS
•
ict
#
t ife
CUSTOM
CLEAN%
-CUSTOl i fil e
CLEANERS
Israel's Supreme Court:
Judging Without A Constitution
LAUNDRY
ALTERATIONS
SILK FINISHING
111111imormis.
SHIRTS LAUNDERED
CI)
Special to The Jewish News
(on hangers)
25* each*
*with
kb
any drycleaning order.
One shirt with each piece of dry cleaning
Ex. 1 pair slacks — 1 shirt
2 pc. suit — 2 shirts
Exp. 2-6-88
14 mile
HUNTER'S SQUARE
14 Mile & Orchard Lk.
Farmington Hills, MI
855-4870
iii Audrey's
'm II—Beady IIII Max & Erroas
Hunters
— Salon
Square
Tally
Hall
a a
r-
kb
a
HOURS: MON.-FRI. 7 a.m.-8 p.m., SAT. 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
•
AUDREY'S CLEANERS •AUDREY'S CLEANERS
Congregation Bais Chabad
of West Bloomfield
cordially invites you to attend
our Annual Dinner
honoring past presidents
Erwin Hollander
Frederic Ruby
Melvin Merzon
Larry Gormezano
Monday, February 8, 1988
20th of Shevat, 5748
Six o'clock in the evening
Concert pianist
Gershon
Jewish Community Center
6600 West Maple Road
West Bloomfield, Michigan
Rabbi Elimelech Silberberg
President Ronald Rogers
Master of Ceremonies Paul Magy
Dinner. Chairpersons
Eileen Borsand
Lucille Ruby
Fran Rogers
Dinner Committee
Sonia Blumenstein
Susie Broder
Alex Ehrmann
Beverly Engelhardt
Lillian Feldstein
Sophie Fischel
Dale Goodman
Marlin Goodman
Susan Gormezano
Sam Green
Sara Green
Carole Hollander
Barry Howard
Malca Katz
Linda Kellen
Jean Kroll
Ann Lehman
Dr. Michael Lehman
Steven Levitz
Dr. Aaron Lupovitch
Morris Mandelbaum
Eli Rashty
Claire Scholnick
Chaya Sara Silberberg
Elaine Sosnick
Andrea Stawis
Kay Wolin
For ticket information call,
Phyllis Rashty 737-2639
42
FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 1988
CARL ALPERT
H
aifa — President
Reagan's problems in
naming a member of
the U.S. Supreme Court
would not have been possible
in Israel where the procedure
for such appointments is
quite different.
The Knesset has only an in-
direct voice in the selection of
the justices, and certainly not
the veto power vested in the
American Senate.
Israel's Supreme Court is
composed of 12 members who
serve until compulsory retire-
ment at the age of 70.
Technically, replacement
members are appointed by
the president of the state
upon recommendation of an
appointments committee, and
this, of course, is where the
power lies.
The committee consists of
nine members: the Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court
and two other justices of that
court; the Minister of Justice
and another cabinet member
named by the government;
two members designated by
the Knesset from its midst;
two practicing lawyers,
elected by the bar association.
Decisions are by simple ma-
jority, but an examination of
the composition of the com-
mittee reveals how difficult it
would be for one political par-
ty, or one point of view, to suc-
ceed in attaining that majori-
ty. The checks and balances
are built in.
By unwritten understan-
ding, provision is made for
representation on the court
for certain population groups.
Thus, there is at least one
chair for Sephardim, a chair
for religious Jewry and a
chair for women. As a matter
of fact, two women today
serve on the court.
Nominations for Supreme
Court justices may be submit-
ted to the committee only by
the Chief Justice, the
Minister of Justice or three
members of the committee.
In the U.S. the justices may
be identified as liberal or con-
servative based on their at-
titude toward congressional
legislation, which they may
be able to strike down as be-
ing unconstitutional. That is
not true in Israel, where the
court has no such veto rights
over acts of the Knesset on
such grounds.
For one thing, Israel has no
constitution. Former Chief
Justice Shimon Agranat has
pointed out that, whereas in
the U.S. the court controls the
legislature, that is not true in
Israel. Rather, here the court
controls the Executive branch
of government, assuring that
its actions comply with the
law as passed by the Knesset.
Of late, there has been a
creeping encroachment of the
Supreme Court on the
sovereignty of the Knesset
which members of that body
view with some alarm. In the
latest instance, an Arab
member of the Knesset,
Mohammed Miari, address-
ing a PLO rally, had voiced
Palestinian nationalist views
which caused the Knesset to
revoke some of his im-
munities as a Knesset
member. The High Court, in
a long and reasoned judg-
ment, declared that the ac-
tion was a violation of the
Knesset's own regulations,
and overturned the decision.
This was the second instance
of the court's calling the
Knesset to order.
As a Supreme Court, it can
hear and rule on appeals from
decisions of the five district
courts which blanket the
country, and which in turn
may receive appeals from the
magistrates' courts.
But the justices can also put
on another hat and assume
identity as what is called the
High Court of Justice. As
such, it can deal with matters
not within the jurisdiction of
any other court, and can even
receive' applications directly
from affected citizens who
find no other recourse. Thus,
it can order government of-
ficials, national or local, to do
or refrain from doing certain
acts. or show cause, or can
even nullify actions which it
determines were taken
unlawfully.
The High Court of Justice is
known by the Hebrew initials
of its name, as Bagatz, and
the word has come to mean a
court ruling which can, at
least for a fixed period, even
prevent a contemplated act by
a government official or body.
Baboon Wins
Word Games
speed is usually about one se-
cond, which allows her to win
most encounters. Malie is en-
couraged to compete because
every victory earns her a
small, crisp cracker from an
automatic dispenser in her
cage.
This game, is not only
educational and entertaining
for children, but likewise
helps the baboon keep men-
tally alert, always a crucial
problem for animals in
captivity.
Rehovot — A five-year-old
"bilingual" baboon, has
recently been delighting
young visitors to the Weiz-
mann Institute of Science.
Malie, the Israeli-born off-
spring of parents brought to
the Institute from Tanzania
in 1971, spends her time com-
peting in Hebrew and
English word games with
Israeli children at the In-
stitute's Garden of Science.
And not only does Malie com-
pete — in a clear majority of
cases she also wins.
When the contest is in
Hebrew, both baboon and
child have to determine
whether two letters on the
left side of a computer screen
appear in a list of "correct
words" or "incorrect words"
on the right side of the screen.
If what they see is a "correct
word," contestants must press
a lever; if not, they are to
refrain from pressing it.
In the English competition,
two consonants are displayed
on the screen which, with the
addition of a vowel, either do
or do not constitute a real
word. Again, a positive
response requires that baboon
and child press the lever; a
negative response, that they
should not.
Since Malie has memorized
all the answers, her response
Humus Lovers
Defy Warning
Jerusalem (JTA) — Humus
— the Oriental-style paste of
chick-peas that is a favorite of
Israelis — has been reported
to be grossly unhealthy in
some of the most popular
restaurants.
The Kolbotek consumer
television program reported
recently that some
restaurants served humus
"not to be eaten by humans!"
The warnings were based on
laboratory tests.
Even before the program
aired, the producer and
managers of Israel TV receiv-
ed anonymous phone calls
threatening them not to
publicize their findings. Jews
and Arabs alike enjoy slowly
cleaning their plates of
humus with pita bread.