Israel's dayanim are the latest targets of the High Court's woke judges
t’s amazing how deceptive appearances can be. To the uninitiated, Israel’s High Court is a fusty repository of traditionalism — all tacky gowns and wigless judges. Like a cut-price Madame Tussaud’s version of London’s Old Bailey, if you will.
But look deeper, and the High Court has long been a fount of innovation. Show their eminences a legal, political or social norm — especially one grounded in thousands of years of Jewish tradition — and they’ll shred it with all the relish of Elon Musk devouring a legacy industry.
Chometz in public institutions on Pesach? Check. Recognition of Reform conversions for citizenship? Sounds good. Supermarkets open on Shabbos — whyever not?
At a time when Israel’s tech sector is worried about the country losing its innovative edge, the court — known by the elegant acronym Bagatz —continues to disrupt with all the chutzpah of a Silicon Valley startup circa 2011.
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