4 Seasons

Fireplace SIP Barbecue
PRE-SEASON SALE

ALL BOHANNA & PIERCE

FIREPLACE

GAS LOGS

FREE

INSTALLED

WHEN YOU. HAVE AN EXISTING ACTIVE GASLINE IN YOUR FIREPLACE

REF. $390.$n 9999 REF.

$425$03
BP -24"

ENGLISH OAK BP -18"

INCLUDES:

1999

logs, burner, pan, embers,
cinders, grate, & SAFETY PILOT CONTROL.

DIFFERENT SIZES & STYLES OF
GAS LOGS ON SALE

ALL FIREPLACE GLASS DOORS ON SALE-- DESIGN
SPECIALITIES, CUSTOM DOOR, DAVID KIMBERLEY, HEATILATOR,
HEARTHCRAFT, PORTLAND WILLAMETTE, MAJESTIC, SUPERIOR

4 Seasons Fireplace&. Barbecue

(810)855-0303

SALE ENDS 9-12-96

30903 ORCHARD LAKE ROAD (in THE PLAZA between

13 & 14 Mile by TJ Maxx &THE GAP) HOURS:Sunday 10 am 6 pm
Monday-Thursday 10 am-9 pm Friday 10 am-6 pm CLOSED SATURDAY

-

NOW HIRING FULL 1c PART TIME SALES PERSON(S)

If you're thinking about a trip to

...Ferhaps in 1998 for Israel's 50th birthday...

Be sure to attend a special pre-Selichot

presentation by enthusiastic participants of the

Beth Achim 1996 Family Trip to Israel

10 p.m., Sat. Sept. 7th

Slides

Congregation Beth Achim

Video Clips
Free Refreshments!

21100 W. 12 Mile Rd., Southfield

"This trip was a highlight of my life...
right up there with having children and grandchildren!"

LouLs-eJA ppieb-cummi

BAR-ILAN page 82

and values" that fail to reflect the
opinion of society at large. They
also take issue with Mr. Barak
about what is legitimately open
to judicial review. For example,
the transport minister's decision
to close a street, they argue, is
within his powers, but no busi-
ness of the court's.
But there are other issues
here. Even Mr. Barak's
staunchest champions do not
deny the public's right to criti-
cize the High Court or its mem-
bers. The issue, they maintain,
is one of style, and they draw a
distinction between "reasoned
criticism" and "incitement."
They point particularly to
Asher Zuckerman, the editor of
the Haredi weekly Hashavua,
who is well-known for inflam-
matory language. "The Target:
Barak," was the headline for one
of his articles.
For two years following the
_ Oslo agreement, Mr. Zuckerman
conducted a virulent campaign
against Yitzhak Rabin and Shi-
mon Peres, peppering articles
with such terms as "traitor,"
"madman," "Jew-hater," even
"Kapos." At one point, his publi-
cation even sneered that Rabin
had no reason to complain about
being called a "murderer."

Aharon Barak,
former champion of
the Haredim, has
become a target.

Some Haredi spokesmen are
quick to explain that overheat-
ed rhetoric is a norm in their
community. Even the venerated
rabbis of opposing factions are
subject to sharp vituperation,
and their right to say what they
choose of whom they choose is
a basic freedom of speech. But
secular leaders, understandably
wary after Rabin's assassination,
fear that a sustained dose of pub-
lic invective is likely to inspire
another Yigal Amir. The Hared-
im counter that violence is not
"our way" and that no political
assassin has ever come out of
their ranks. Secular spokesmen
charge back that the leaders of
the modern-Orthodox NRP, Mr.
Amir's camp, made a similar
claim even after Rabin's murder.
They portrayed Mr. Amir as
"wild grass" in its otherwise law-
abiding meadow.
Meanwhile, the police and
General Security Services are
taking no chances. After re-
peated phone threats were made
on Mr. Barak's life last week,
their protection of the chiefjus-
tice, his home, and the court it-
self has been considerably
heightened.
Another hotly contested issue
is the court's composition, which
religious leaders have described

as the exclusive province of
Ashkenazi, "left-wing," and ser."
ular judges. This group, the
Haredim say, is chosen by an elit-
ist committee of other justices,
Cabinet ministers, a member of
the bar association, and only one
representative of "the public."
To make the bench more rep-
resentative of society, they want
judges elected by the public or the
Knesset. But leading members
of the legal community adamant
ly oppose such a change. They
fear that it will both cultivate cor-
ruption in the judicial system and
the choice of judges on political
leanings instead of professional
qualifications.
Former Justice Minister David
Liba'i also has warned that
changing the system to ensure a
more "representative" selection
will spark a counter-demand t(,7\
balance the makeup of the rab-
binical courts. Those bodies have
exclusive jurisdiction over mar-
riage and divorce. It will, he said,
force the addition of secular
members, including women (who
are now barred even from giving
testimony).
In a single week, then, the fall-
out from what began as a local
skirmish, over a single street, haL_7_ \
burgeoned into a crisis that
threatens the fabric of Israel's so-
ciety.
Prime Minister Binyamin Ne-
tanyahu has sharply denounced
the threats against the High
Court and chief justice and
promised that his government
"will use the full force of the law
[against them]."
"Whatever tensions exist in Is
raeli society," he added, "they
cannot be allowed to fray the de-
mocratic and legal structure that
we have built here over the life
of the state."
But his firm stand has had
only marginal effect. Haredi voic-
es have continued to warn that
unless the court's composition is
changed, or its powers severely_,
checked, Mr. Barak's court may --\
"soon decide that there's no point
in holding elections to the Knes-
set."
The court's secular defenders
warn, just as darkly, that if the
verbal attacks are not treated as
incitement and stopped by legal
means, that Israel's judges may
sink into the same beleaguered
state as their colleagues in/
Colombia and Italy. ❑

Publicity Deadlines

The normal deadline for local
news and publicity items is
noon Thursday, eight days pri-
or to issue date. The deadline
for birth announcements is 10
a.m. Monday, four days prior to
issue date; out-of-town obitu-
aries, 10 a.m. Tuesday, three
days prior to issue date.

