Benny Landa: "As a country without a constitution, we need the Supreme Court to maintain the basic values"

“I am worried. I am worried about the undermining of the independence of the judicial system, which is the most dangerous thing possible, to the ban on waving the Palestinian flag, which is simply a distortion of freedom of expression and individual freedom. These are extreme things that should not be accepted in a democracy. When I lived in Canada, did I not march with the Israeli flag? Did anyone see that as betrayal of my loyalty to the country as a Canadian citizen?

"Regarding the judicial system, it is not a political body. It protects the basic rights of the country's citizens - from the extreme right to the extreme left, ultra-Orthodox to secular. When a political body thinks that its worldview should prevail over the judgment of the courts, that is the beginning of the end of democracy. This balance is required. After all, not every law that a majority in the Knesset was willing to approve is moral. As a country without a constitution, we need the Supreme Court to maintain the basic values. Israel’s Declaration of Independence guarantees equal rights, and it cannot be rejected just because a particular sector of the population or party has a majority in the Knesset.

“I am also concerned about the Abraham Accords, one of the greatest and best things done in recent governments. What is happening here will test the ability to have trade agreements, technological cooperation and peace with the most moderate countries in the region. These countries see an opportunity in the new relationship with the State of Israel, but they are still Muslim countries. And when there is a violation of the status quo, for example when a minister goes up to the Temple Mount, it is something that can greatly damage the feeling that we respect Muslims and the relationship that took decades to build. Everything is very fragile, and we need to protect it.”

Benny Landa is a serial entrepreneur, chairman of the Landa Group and founder of Indigo.