'Israel is verging on moral collapse'

Despite problems, Supreme Court President Beinisch optimistic about future.

dorit beinisch 88 298 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
dorit beinisch 88 298
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
Israel is on the verge of moral collapse, Supreme Court President Chief Justice Dorit Beinisch said Sunday at a conference on education hosted by the Kibbutzim College of Education. "We are in the midst of a cultural and political turmoil and storm clouds are brewing. We are experiencing failures, societal class struggles, poverty and a lack of public trust in all state institutions," she said. However, despite her harsh statements, Beinisch also voiced optimism by saying that, after perusing the conference program, she thought that, "perhaps we can still say that... it isn't too late." She said change was possible due to the many people "who [were] interested in contributing and cultivating that which is most important to us - our children's education." Beinisch expressed hope that Israel would develop an education system that strove towards morality, "which has the power to lay the foundations for a better society, a society made up of individuals who are good people, whose children are not under the poverty line, are not subjected to violence and do not become violent. "A society founded on Jewish and universal values, on tolerance and love of humanity, a just society that fulfills the expectations of its founding fathers... this is no simple task... but one must not succumb to the feeling that all is lost," she added.