Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Breaking News

Bibi Backs Arab Judge’s Right To Shun Anthem

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has recently conveyed a message to Supreme Court Justice Salim Joubran saying he supports his decision not to sing the national anthem at the judges’ swearing-in ceremony about two weeks ago, Haaretz has learned.

Joubran was castigated by far-right figures and parliamentarians after he was seen on television not singing the anthem, unlike the rest of the judges, after the Supreme Court’s new president, Justice Asher Grunis, had been sworn in.

The chairman of the Knesset’s Constitution Law and Justice Committee, MK David Rotem (Yisrael Beiteinu), demanded Joubran be dismissed and MK Michael Ben-Ari (National Union) submitted a bill banning anyone who had not served in the IDF from being appointed to the Supreme Court.

Following the outcry, Netanyahu sent his envoy for the peace process, attorney Isaac Molho, to tell Joubran the premier understood him and backed his decision, officials said yesterday.

Molho reportedly told Joubran that Netanyahu appreciates his honoring the anthem by standing up and did not expect an Arab-Israeli to sing it, especially since it includes the words “a Jewish soul yearns.”

For more, go to Haaretz.com

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.