We visited the Bible Lands Museum and the Supreme Court.
The Bible Lands Museum has artifacts from many time periods. The founder believes everyone is part of Adam's family and civilizations live with and are influenced by other civilizations. For example, stories of the flood are found in more than one civilization, not just the Old Testament.
Bible displays include a page from the Gutenberg Bible and manuscripts from the 5th century. A few displays have Bibles side by side to illustrate copying or translating errors. The same verse in Ruth reads "she" in one Bible and "he" in another. A New Testament verse has a comma in one Bible and no comma in another, which changes the meaning to 'Jesus was a malefactor'.
There are 15 Supreme Court judges. They are chosen by a committee of lawyers, judges, politicians, and citizens. They serve until they are 70. The system is designed to pick the best people rather than have political appointees. They hear 2000 cases per year. The US and Canadian Supreme Courts hear only 100 cases per year and have only 9 judges. There are 3 levels - magistrate, district, and supreme court. There are no appellate courts. Normally, only 1 - 3 judges hear a case. Only once have all 15 judges heard a case - a woman wanted to have her ex-husband's sperm bank. The husband objected because they were no longer married. There are no juries. They believe common people don't understand the law, so cases are best decided by judges rather than juries.
Hall which leads to the courtrooms.
Most light in the building is natural. People sit on these benches to wait for their case to be heard.
In the courtroom, judges sit in the front and attorneys for each side face the judges. In the US and Canadian Supreme Courts, judges do the questioning. In the Israeli system, attorneys do the questioning and the judges do the listening. The people whose case is being heard sit on the right and the media sit on the left. There is no jury box because the judges decide all cases.
A Menorah behind the judges honors Jewish history and does not represent a religious symbol.
A Mesusa on the doorpost at the entrance to the court reminds Jews to remember God. It is probably there for historical rather than religious significance, since most Jews are secular.
Architectural straight lines symbolize strictness in the law. If I steal, I receive the punishment for stealing. Round designs symbolize flexibility for the law to consider circumstances. For example, if I steal because I am starving rather than for personal gain,the law may judge me differently.
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