As a lawyer and a loyal citizen of the State of Israel, I feel responsible and unafraid to confront any topic, including the explosive issue of the judge accused of hitting his children.

I imagine that the following statement will be unpopular, but I will state it, nevertheless. I think it is high time that more people from within the legal system begin to express divergent opinions, even if they are unpopular.

In general, I am not against the right of parents to use some type of punishment to discipline their children. However, I am not in favor of violence against children as a method of education. We must find a middle road. In Israeli society today, thousands of parents are indicted every year. Children as young as five call the police to report their parents. A slap in the face can destroy an entire family. This state of affairs must end!

I am well aware of the issue of violence against children, but it’s time to stop, reorganize and rethink our values as a society. We have lost parental authority, crime in general is rampant; and the cycle is perpetuated because violence generates violence.

The problem is the balance between parents’ needs as educators and, with today’s endless limitations, the scarcity of educational tools. Society is creating a younger generation that has no respect for its elders and children are not prepared for adulthood because they have very few boundaries imposed upon them.

Parents are desperate for “peace” in the home, where they do not have to “confront” their children. This is frustrating because more and more children are learning that they can (or think they can) “get their own way,” only to grow up and find that real life is quite different. In addition to being unprepared and immature, many children are raised with parents giving in to their every whim, which causes them to live in denial and remain ignorant of real-life challenges.

The dimensions of this social disaster will be felt in the next generation. We are creating a society of competitors; not a society in search of excellence. We are deepening the gaps between the rich and the poor, the big cities and the peripheries; and we are still searching for high IQs instead of high EIQs (Emotional Intelligence Quotient). We will end up with a lot of geniuses who are incapable of marrying, or even socializing.

Below is a bill presented in 2000 by MK Rabbi Avraham Ravitz (1934-2009), who served in five governments (the 12th to the 16th). The bill was not approved, but still provides a very good solution to the problem of deterioration of parental authority.

Conclusion

At the very least, we must remain aware of the long-term dangers to our society as a result of the prevailing beliefs with regard to children’s rights. We have to remember that – before we demand a child’s right to eat – we are obligated to feed him!

As difficult as it sounds, a child’s right to express his opinion by refusing to obey his parents must end where his parents have the obligation to educate and prepare him for real life.

שרותי משרד/הצעת חוק/1405ד

הכנסת החמש-עשרה

הצעת חוק חושך שבטו שונא בנו (התרת ענישה חינוכית), התש”ס-2000

דברי – הסבר

ילד אינו רכוש של הוריו, אך מוטלת עליהם חובה מוסרית ממדרגה ראשונה לחנכו.

אם במסגרת חינוכו נדרש להעניש את הילד ענישה הגובלת במכה שאינה מזיקה ולכן אינה בגדר “אלימות”, הרי שהדבר לא יחשב לפגיעה בחסר ישע, ויוכלו הורים להשתמש באמצעי זה מתוך מחשבה חינוכית ובמידה.

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הוגשה ליו”ר הכנסת והסגנים

והונחה על שולחן הכנסת ביום

כ”ט באדר א’ התש”ס – 6.3.2000