Without Prejudice

Netanyahu condemns UNESCO decision

2010-10-29T19:36:00.001+02:00

Suddenly, every news website in Israel is reporting PM Netanyahu's press release, criticizing a UNESCO decision allegedly claiming that Rachel's Tomb and the Tomb of the Patriarchs are mosques that have no part in Jewish heritage (The initial citing of the decision appeared in Israel Hayom. Netanyahu's press release is a headline in Haaretz and ynet, if to link just two.) According to the

Trafic Statistics and Inernational Law

2010-10-27T12:24:00.000+02:00

Last weekend a few newspapers in Israel published articles about the notorious Route 443, citing IDF sources who claim that, since the route was reopened to the use of Palestinian cars, in accordance with the Israeli Supreme Court decision, only five Palestinian cars, in average, use it each day (Haaretz in Hebrew, JPost in English). According to the item, sources in the IDF feel frustrated with

Bloggers for taxing oil drilling in Israel

2010-10-24T01:10:00.005+02:00

Appologies to all those who do not read Hebrew.This is a short note by Ofnan in support of the just campaign to tax oil drilling in Israel. Please join us.את מי מייצג אופיר אקוניס? מכתב גלוי ליו"ר ועדת הכלכלה לכבוד יו"ר ועדת הכלכלה, ח"כ אופיר אקוניס, בדיון בכנסת על תמלוגי הגז אמרת שתומכי העלאת התמלוגים הם "ארגוני שמאל פונדמנטליטסיים", ושאם יועלו התמלוגים, ישראל תהפוך ל"כלכלה סובייטית

The Coming Collapse of the Middle Class

2010-10-20T21:22:00.001+02:00

Nothing of my own today - just a link to Professor Elizabeth Warren's fascinating lecture about bankruptcy. You have to hear this, even if the term 'bankruptcy law' makes you shudder.(The actual lecture, after all the niceties, begins at min 6:20 or so)Enjoy

Fighting Occupation with Oppression?

2010-09-28T18:34:00.005+02:00

As an Israeli who believes in the right of Palestine to self-determination and the need to end Israeli occupation - what should I think about the way Palestinians are handling human rights and that's effect on the political struggle?First, I want to put one thing aside - many people talk about human rights (especially and their implementation in the Muslim world) and actually mean Western

Is Gay Equality Equal?

2010-09-22T11:07:00.003+02:00

A few days ago the Israeli Supreme Court issued a decision that forces the Jerusalem Municipality to fund the Gay Rights March organized by the local glbt (gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transsexual) organization - the Jerusalem Open House (Ynet report here, the full decision in Hebrew as a pdf file here). This decision is great news, I think, for anyone who supports glbt rights and equality.

Land, Ownership, and Luck

2010-04-14T00:44:00.003+03:00

I think I never fully understood why land property was always dealt with differently from other kinds of property. Of course, buying houses and such is always more expensive than buying many other things, but still... to actually have a different set of laws to deal with those things?I think that, in a way, the latest concerns about Arab and Jewish settlement and demolition plans in Jerusalem

Muzzle the Watchdog

2010-04-10T01:32:00.003+03:00

In the past few weeks the Israeli media has filled with obscure hints to the fact that something is going on. It wasn't clear what exactly that thing is, but if you knew how to read between the lines it was clear that something important has happened and that there's a gag order on it. Soon after, those bloggers who always know what's going on started letting out the details - a certain

Employees Must Wash Their Hands

2010-01-20T22:37:00.000+02:00

If you've ever been to the bathroom in a restaurant or a bar in New York, you must have seen this sign. It's always there, saying "Employees must wash their hands before returning to work," or something of the sort.I always wonder how effective that sign is. I mean, I'm sure there's some kind of legal duty (either a statute or a city ordinance) making it mandatory to have one of those signs in

Human Nature

2010-01-14T19:43:00.002+02:00

Is it only me, or is it true that most professors (and students) in gender studies are either women or gay men? I never seriously surveyed every law school faculty, but my gut feeling tends to say that this really is the case.In a way, it's kind of sad. We teach ourselves that the law is a social tool that promotes equality to all members of society. I think that a more proper definition is that

Virtual Borders

2010-01-13T18:19:00.002+02:00

I remember how in the 90's, when the internet just started to gain popularity, there was this new feeling in the air. Everyone felt like the world as we know it is going to change, and that borders and physical location are going to become meaningless. The Global Village, they called it. No matter where you are, anything and everything would be just a mouse-click away, since it's all going to be

Things that make you go 'ouch'.

2009-12-22T21:49:00.003+02:00

Just read this. Makes you think about how horrible the power of the legal system can be sometimes.

On Nations and States: What does It Mean to be Russian?

2009-12-11T06:47:00.007+02:00

In the past few days I had a few conversations with several people about those vague things called state, nation, and people. Some of it came up with regards to the Swiss referendum I talked about in my last post. A little bit more was in the contexts of those things that certain people tend to call 'un-American'. A friend is writing a paper about the way Russia refuses to treat people with HIV/

When Wolves Go to Vote

2009-11-30T04:14:00.005+02:00

In perfect time for the Eid, the Swiss voters passed a federal referendum today, which bans the construction of minarets throughout the country. If I understand the process correctly, then according to Swiss law any popular initiative is subject to the inspection of the Federal Council, which examines whether it is in breach of mandatory international law. If it is not, the initiative goes to

Transracial

2009-11-25T23:46:00.005+02:00

Back in the beginning of the 20th century, many of the United State's Southern countries adopted some kind or another of the 'one drop' rule, determining that any person with any kind of African ancestry - 'one drop of black blood' - is black. I guess that made sense for those who tried to keep the white race 'pure'. But surprisingly enough, the same rule - although long abolished from the law -

The Rock It Cannot Lift

2009-11-20T21:05:00.001+02:00

In his book, "The Concept of Law", H.L.A. Hart asks if a legislative body can bind itself and its successors by transferring legislative powers over specific issues to a new and different body:"[I]t might be conceded that Parliament might irrevocably alter the present constitution of Parliament by abolishing the House of Lords altogether... It might also be concede, as Dicey says, that Parliament

Cross-Defining and Trans-classifications

2009-10-20T19:24:00.009+02:00

As Robert Cover said in his famous article "Nomos and Narrative," law is a world of definitions, which give everything and anything a meaning. The more you look at the law, the more you realize that Cover is right. A legal system is a collection of definitions - what is property, what is a binding contract, what is a citizen, what is illegal possession and so on. The law works through

Going Slow and Social Justice

2009-09-30T23:28:00.007+02:00

Watching Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the US Supreme Court interviewing on C-Span made me think of the thin line between adjudicating a dispute and adjudicating a social problem. One of the questions the moderator addressed to Justice Ginsburg was about the effect the Supreme Court's ruling had on society, and Justice Ginsburg answered that the court should always be careful not to make wide

Face, Race, and Impartiality

2009-09-16T23:33:00.011+03:00

(I came to thinking about the following issue after reading the Goldstone report, but thoughts of this sort are running through my mind for quite some time now. I'm casting this stone into the cyber pond in hope that maybe someone would have something to add. As you will see, this is all just a beginning of a thought with no conclusion.) The Goldstone report was issued by the committee of the

On Facebook and Issues of Nationality

2009-09-16T04:58:00.006+03:00

If you have a Facebook account (of course you do, who doesn't?) then you must know that in order to set up your account you must choose which social networks you are interested in joining. Now, the primary network anyone usually connects herself to is a regional network, and that is usually the city, the state, or the country one lives in. This has an effect on the profiles you gain access to,

Without Prejudice

2009-09-16T04:12:00.000+03:00

Hi there.Well, this is fairly embarrassing: introducing myself to a yet nonexistent crowd.After so many times of reading an article or watching a TV show and thinking: "Man, this is so annoying! If only I was there to state my opinion too!" I guess this is my way of stating all those opinions. Someone might even have interest in them. My name is Raphael, and I am an Israeli law student at