Israeli Democracy and its System of Checks and Balances: The Testimony Derived from Two Supreme Court Opinions by President Asher Grunis

ABSTRACT: This essay examines two separate but related cases in which President Asher Grunis of the Israeli High Court of Justice wrote opinions that overturned two decisions made by the Central Elections Committee of the Knesset. The first decision disqualified Balad party MK Haneen Zoabi from running for office while the second censored advertisements by both the Arab Party Balad and the right-wing Jewish Party Otzma l'Yisrael during the 2012 election campaign. The substance of these decisions speaks to the commitment Grunis and the Court had to the principles of liberal democracy. The opinions also testify to the power the Supreme Court possesses to protect the civil rights of candidacy and free speech and assure equal rights for culturally, religiously, and politically marginalized groups. The views expressed in them are particularly relevant at a moment when the system of checks and balances that have historically defined Israel as a liberal democratic nation is endangered by proposed legislation.