50% TO 75% OFF

Bar-Ilan Street Justice

The vilification of Israel's chief magistrate
by angry Haredim takes an ugly turn.

INA FRIEDMAN ISRAEL CORRESPONDENT

--- ....... .

:::

Friday, Saturday & Sunday Only: September 6, 7 & 8

A Partial List of Our Exceptional Values

Valued At

Leather COiltS
Microjiber Coats, Detachable
Rabbit Lining & Fox Collar

Sale

$360

$450

$900

$3199

Mahogany Female Mink Coats $8000

A ll lajor Credit Cards Accepted • Financing Available

While quantities last. All furs labeled to show country of origin.

Special Sale Hours: Friday 9:30-9:00, Saturday 9:30-7:00, Sunday 12:00-6:00
WE WILL BE CLOSED MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 9TH

IS I ti. 11"ootheara Aut . ., I 131k. South

of

Alap/e, .\. t . At to the h'irmill;hain Theatre • (810) 642-1690

Newest Trend in Aerobics Fitness
Total Body Conditioning
Stress Relief
Self Defense

NON-CONTACT
KICKBOXING
BOXING

Register Now For 1 Week Free Trial
Classes For All Ages

(810) 932-581()
rre/r Lea" . . .

Executive

BOXING CLUB

•

33022 Northwestern Hwy., (at 14 Mile Rd), West Bloomfield

■ III•1 ■ ••

sTA R D E STAIRWAY LIFTS

THE CAREFREE WAY TO
CLIMB STAIRS

LARRY ARONOFF

STAR-GLIDE•

ACTON RENTAL & SALES (313) 891-6500 (810) 540-5550

Orthodox men shout at border police officers and try to block a thoroughfare on
Shabbat.

e's the most dangerous en-
emy of the Jewish way of
life!" read one warning
published in Israel last
week. His philosophy will lead to
a "dictatorship that endangers
democracy and the rule of law,"
warned another. "We must not
disperse [our] shells. The battle
must be focused on this man,
who is highly dangerous to
democracy and freedom."
The object of the near-hyste-
ria was actually the unassuming
and internationally respected
chief justice of Israel's Supreme
Court, Aharon Barak. And his
accusers were not the standard-
bearers of investigative journal-
ism, but a collection of publicists
writing in Haredi (religious)
newspapers and magazines that,
over the past week, have been
scrambling to outdo each other
as his most savage assailants.
The attacks were essentially
a byproduct of the "war" over
Jerusalem's Bar-Ilan Street, a
short stretch of thoroughfare that
the Haredi community wants
closed on Shabbat and Jewish
holidays; the city's secular resi-
dents want the street kept open.
Two weeks ago, after hearing
arguments by both sides, the
High Court essentially decided
not to decide — yet. Instead, it
ordered the minister of transport
to appoint a public committee,
composed of religious and secu-
lar citizens, to forge a consensus
on the principles to be applied to
all streets in Israel. Only when
the committee submits its rec-
ommendations will the High
Court rule.

H

BUILD A BETTER BODY
BY BOXING

When you're disabled, or just not able to move
around as freely as you once could, stairs can
be a real problem. But there is a simple answer.
STAIR-GUDE° powered stairway lift. Easily installed
to fit curved or straight stairs. They give you back
the ability to move around your own home. Folds
back-gets in nobody's way.
CALL OR STOP BY FOR A FREE DEMONSTRATION

AP/EYAL WARSHAVSKY

$1499

Fine Judaica
One-Of-A-Kind
Creations At
TRADITION!
TRADITION!

Call
Alicia R. Nelson
(810) 557-0109
For An
Appointment

Until then, it ruled, traffic is
to continue flowing as usual.
It was the court's way of say-
ing that the Bar-Ilan imbroglio
is a public problem, rather than
a legal one, and that it should be
solved by public dialogue and
agreement.
Transport Minister Rabbi
Yitzhak Levy, a leader of the
modern-Orthodox National Re-
ligious Party, praised the action.
But rather than wait for the fi-
nal ruling, the Haredi press
launched a personal strike
against the chief justice.
To most Israelis, Mr. Barak is
an unlikely target. A Holocaust
survivor, legal scholar and for-
mer attorney general, he has
long been one of the country's
most respected figures.
Former Chief Justice Meir
Shamgar characterized him as
a "juridical genius." Former
Egyptian Prime Minister
Mustafa Khalil (who knew Mr.
Barak when, as attorney gener-
al, the Israeli worked on the
Camp David agreement) praised
him as one of the "most signifi-
cant Israelis of the era."
The Haredi community itself
has good reason to like Mr.
Barak. In one of his most famous
rulings, the judge upheld the
long-held practice of exempting
its yeshiva students from mili-
tary service.
Nonetheless, the Haredi pub-
lic opinion-makers have chosen
to demonize the jurist as a "po-
tential dictator" whose rulings
are based on a "personal outlook

BAR-ILAN page 84