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Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) National President Morton A. Klein and Director of Special Projects Liz Berney, Esq. released the following statement:
Last week, Israel’s undemocratic Judicial Selection Committee approved two particularly dangerous appointments to Israel’s powerful Supreme Court: Judge Khaled Kabub, a.k.a Kabov, a Muslim Arab who has alarming alleged terror connections; and far-left radical Judge Ruth Ronen. Israeli Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar, current head of the Judicial Selection Committee, could have and should have stopped these dreadful selections, but instead engaged in the shameful political deal-making that resulted in these appointments. The far Left has long pushed for Ronen’s and Kabub’s appointments. Labor leader Merav Michaeli boasted that her demand (as a condition for joining the governing coalition) to have a Labor MK (Efrat Rayten) on the Judicial Committee has now borne fruit.
This contradicts moral and Biblical laws for selecting judges, which enjoin us to select judges that do not pervert justice, show favoritism, or accept anything – no matter how small – that might be deemed a bribe. (Shoftim) The major criteria that should have been used are impartiality, integrity, and fidelity to Israel’s Basic Laws (Israel’s equivalent of a constitution). But these criteria were not mentioned.
Elevating Judge Kabub and Judge Ronen to the Israeli Supreme Court could damage Israeli sovereignty and rights, and Israel’s ability to defend herself against terrorists for many years.
Judge Khaled Kabub’s Terror Connections: Several months ago, bereaved Israeli terror victims’ families and organizations wrote to Minister Sa’ar and Israel’s Ombudsman for Judges, asking Sa’ar to withdraw Judge Kabub from consideration to Israel’s high court. These bereaved Jewish families noted that in August 2020, Judge Khaled Kabub met with former Palestinian Authority Mufti Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, current head of the Supreme Muslim Council, who has supported terrorism and suicide bombings, is linked to the Hamas terror organization, and incited against the Jewish State on multiple occasions. Kabub also met with Yousef Muhamir, chairman of the illegal Mourabitoun organization, banned due to its affiliation with terrorism. In addition, the judge’s son, Walid Kabub, publicly supported Hamas last May while Hamas was lobbing 4,369 rockets at Israeli civilians. (See “Muslim High Court Nominee Facing Accusations of Terror Support,” by Aryeh Savir, Tazpit News Agency/Jewish Press, Oct. 6, 2021.)
Judge Ronen’s Connection to Anti-Israel NIF Grantee: Judge Ruth Ronen has apparently placed far-left wing ideology above her judicial obligations. In 2011, Judge Ronen ordered the Israeli government to give sensitive security information regarding Gaza to the anti-Israel NGO Gisha. Ronen’s involvement in this case and dangerous decision violated Ronen’s obligation to recuse herself, because Ronen’s husband, Ze’ev Bergman, was a management member of (and large donor - NIS 350,000) to the hostile-to-Israel group “New Israel Fund/Shatil,” which funds Gisha. The Legal Forum for Israel filed a complaint against Judge Ronen for failing to recuse herself. Then-Ombudsman for Judges Eliezer Goldberg found that the complaint against Judge Ronen was justified. (See also here; here; here and here.)
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