Of Farmington Hills
INFINITI OF FARMINGTON HILLS IS RANKED NUMBER 1
NATIONALLY FOR CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN SALES & SERVICE
Memory Seating, 278 HP V8, Keyless Remote,
Bose Stereo, Leather, Sunroof, ABS Brakes
Air, Stereo, CD, Cruise, ABS, Dual Air Bags, Tilt, Alloy
Wheels, Alarm, Automatic, Leather, Power Sunroof,
Remote Entry and More!
C7
its "violations of the religious sta-
tus quo."
Generally modern, Zionist, and
nationalist in outlook, the NRP,
which currently has six deputies
in the Knesset, has spent much
of the past decade passionately
advocating the cause of the set-
tlers in the occupied territories at
the expense of militant action on
religious affairs. After the El All
ruling, however, the party has de-
cided to mount a campaign "to
halt the takeover of Israeli soci-
ety by the legislation of Basic
Laws ... that aim to undermine
the foundations of religion and
the Halachah."
One unabashed aim of the
NRP's effort is to pass legislation
that will block the appointment
of Justice Barak as the next pres-
ident of the Supreme Court (he
is the most senior justice on the
bench) or at least limit his term
(which would otherwise run un-
til his retirement) to five years.
"When a man determines that a
couple of homos are a couple in
every sense, it's necessary to con-
sider whether he's worthy of be-
77.; ing the president of the Supreme
- Court," said NRP deputy Yigal
Bibi. "We've all admired his wis-
dom and public probity, but after
a few rulings in this vein, I think
he's gone too far."
The deeper reason for the anti-
Barak sentiment is his strong
leaning toward transforming the
Supreme Court into a body that
can act as a check on the Knes-
-_c_; set (which is currently sovereign)
by nullifying laws it regards as
"unconstitutional." Israel has no
formal constitution, due largely
to the insistence of the religious
parties that the Torah is the only
appropriate "constitution" for a
Jewish state. But it does have a
body of Basic Laws that could be
regarded as a constitutional
framework, at least for the pun
pose of striking down legislation
that contradicts them. Various
court rulings have slowly been
inching Israel toward a system of
checks and balances. But the
NRP has now raised the alarm
that with Justice Barak at their
head, the court's 12 appointed
justices could well appropriate to
themselves more power than the
120 elected members of the Knes-
set.
What concerns the religious
parties even more is the fact that
the High Court already has used
its present clout to reverse in-
stances of discrimination that de-
rive from laws and powers
classified as part of the "religious
status quo" (such as the barring
of Conservative and Reform Jews
from serving on local Religious
Councils).
In an attempt to neutralize
that clout, the Orthodox Shas
Party is working to introduce a
system whereby new laws will
automatically be passed to over-
ride any High Court decision that
prejudices the "status quo," there-
by again giving the Knesset the
upper hand.
In fact, it has made this pro-
posal a key plank of it,3 still un-
signed coalition agreement with
the Labor Party. But Justice
Barak already has categorized
this idea, popularly called "by-
passing Bagatz," as "bypassing
democracy." And the High Court
itself may well rule it illegal in an
appeal now pending before it.
And so one thing leads to an-
other. The rights of homosexual
couples may not be the most
burning issue facing Israelis to-
day. But they are part of the
wider struggle to ease tradition-
al constraints on civil liberties in
Israel. And oddly enough, it is
this issue that has accelerated
the drawing of lines for what will
surely be a key domestic battle in
Israel's long "after" period:
whether the degree of political,
social, and religious equality ex-
tended to all of Israel's citizens
will ultimately be controlled by
rabbis, legislators, or by the 12
venerable justices of the Supreme
Court.
❑
Et4OS.
."‘
4•145"
••• ■ •••,\
:.
.24 7
FREE SERVICE LOANER, FREE PICK UP AND DELIVERY
INFINITI
Of Farmington Hills
OPEN SATURDAYS, SALES AND SERVICE
24355 HAGGERTY ROAD • (810) 4714220 • BETWEEN 10 MILE & GRAND RIVER
•
Plus S450 dest. fee. ** 24 or 36 mo. closed end lease. Requires 1st mo. pymt.. doc., S450 acq. fee, tax, title, license due at inception. S1000 down 045. S1500 down
J30, $1000 down G20. Total of pymts: 045 $17,964. G20 $10,764. J30 (24 mo.) S9576 (36 mo.) S14,364. 24 month lease 15.000 miles per year 36 month leases 12,000
miles per year. All leases 10c per mile overage at inception. tOne pay lease req. plates, title, acq. fee. doc plus applicable taxes. 15,000 miles per year. Lessee has
option but is not obligated to buy at lease end. Subject to credit approval. Excludes prior sales & leases. Standard Guaranteed Auto Protection included.
COATS
UNLIMITED
• SPECIALISTS IN
CUSTOM
SHOWER
ENCLOSURES
Oak Park
Lincoln Center 26150 Greenfield Road
Oak Park, MI 48237
(313) 968-2060
West Bloomfield
Orchard Mail 6337 Orchard Lake Road
West Bloomfield, MI48322 (313) 855-9955
• EXPERTS
IN CUSTOM
MIRROR DESIGN
AND
INSTALLATION
Troy
•
Troy Commons 871 K Big Beaver Road
Troy, MI 48237
528.9966
WE SHIP
FURNITURE
vris
cos
32328 Grand River
Farmington
15% OFF*
ALL BASCO SHOWER
and TUB ENCLOSURES.
Expires 1/31/95
474-9730
6453 Farmington Road
W. Bloomfield
Distinctive Bath Enclosures
For Your Free Estimate or Consultation
Call Our Glass Experts at:
855-5822
Find It All In
The Jewish News
Classifieds
Call 354-5959
I
Basco
810
3 5 3 - 5 770
And Visit Our Southfield Showroom at:
22223 Telegraph Road
*in-stoc k on ly
(South of 9 Mile Road)
(0
RED
GLASS
CC
U.1
CO
2
w
A Clear Reflection of Quality
Since 1964
LLJ
0
53