"Truth will spring up from the earth and justice will look down from the heavens." So wrote the Psalmist when speaking of the coming of an age dominated by righteousness, and this ancient dream of the Israelites is the theme around which was built the modern Israeli Supreme Court building, the highest house of justice in the Jewish state. It is a conscious attempt to live up to the Jewish people's venerable hope for unflinching righteousness. Whether the Israeli Supreme Court has fulfilled that hope is open to debate, but its mighty home building does seem to invoke a certain righteous gravitas.
Until 1992, the Supreme Court sat in the Russian Compound, but members of the Rothschild dynasty insisted on building the court an appropriately impressive new home, and so with the help of the brother and sister architect team of Ram and Ada Karmi, the current building was raised in the government compound in western Jerusalem, close to the Knesset. The architecture is inspired by Jewish tradition and ancient architecture, with the prominent glass pyramid referencing the Tomb of Absalom at the foot of the Mount of Olives. The court is open to the public – a visitor could even sit in on one of the cases being decided by the court, should the minutiae of law interest them.
Sunday to Thursday, 8:30 to 14:30 (individual tours at 11:00 in Hebrew and 12:00 in English, group tours must call in advance for reservations)
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