Edmond Levy and Binyamin Netanyahu
Edmond Levy and Binyamin NetanyahuFlash 90

Uri Shtruzman, retired judge of the Tel Aviv District Court, spoke to Arutz Sheva about Supreme Court Judge Edmond Levy z''l, who passed away this Tuesday. Shtruzman, who knew Levy personally over the course of many years, called on Israel to adopt the Levy Report.

The report, authored by a commission headed by Levy in 2012, proves that Judea and Samaria are not "occupied territories" according to international law, and argues the legality of Israel declaring sovereignty over the region.

"There are political reasons why it isn't applied," said Shtruzman, noting the government effectively shelved the report. "I support the report...I've written similar opinions even before the report."

Shtruzman remarked that in both his and Levy's legal opinions, "the case of Cyprus is presented; there too a division occurred between the Cypriot and Turkish parts, and the Greeks who were expelled from the Turkish part were reimbursed but not allowed to return to the part they were expelled from."

"It's a topic that needs to be learned and to be adopted," stressed Shtrzuman.

"A balanced man and an excellent judge"

"He had the reputation of a balanced man and an excellent judge, an honest man who was always asked to clarify disputes," praised Shtruzman.

Recalling Levy's career, Shtruzman commented "I was a judge when he was an attorney, later we were together at the district court. When the court director asked me about him, I always said he was deserving of being a judge, and indeed I wasn't disappointed; his rulings were very speedy and he strove for justice with great sensitivity to the people."

One of the most memorable rulings Levy made came around the 2005 "Disengagement" plan, which expelled all Jews from Gaza. Levy was the only Supreme Court judge to oppose the move, calling it immoral. His stance has garnered praise for being a "spot of light in a heap of darkness."

Speaking about the ruling, Shtruzman noted "at the Supreme Court he expressed the legitimate legal position on the issue of the people of Israel's connection to the land of Israel."

Levy ruled that "the Knesset decision was illegal and distorted the opinion of voters," recalled Shtruzman. Former Prime Minister Ariel "Sharon made a farce and left the path he presented to his voters. I also wrote about the topic and the illegal decision of the Gush Katif expulsion."