Ayala Procaccia, a justice of the Supreme Court of Israel, spoke about the importance of the Israeli judicial system and her reactions to the political situation in Israel during a lecture Tuesday at the Hassenfeld Conference Center. Since 2001, Procaccia has served as one of the twelve Justices. Prior to her appointment to this post, she served in several positions in the Israeli Ministry of Justice. In 1987, she was appointed to the Israeli judiciary, which began her career in the Jerusalem Magistrate Court. In her time on the bench, Procaccia has dealt with many national and international conflicts, including the recent debate over the construction of a security fence separating areas of Israel from the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Procaccia stressed the responsibilities of serving on the Israeli court. She said the court has a very large role in Israeli civil life and hears over 12,000 cases a year, both civil and criminal cases. "We must have a commitment to the survival of the Jews and to the moral structure of Israeli society," she said of the court.

Procaccia said despite recent unease in Israel, it has been-and will continue to be-the court's responsibility to find common ground between groups with opposing points of view.

"Times of crisis bring individual human rights to full focus," she said.

Regarding the hotly contested security fence, the justice said that while some argue the fence brings "injury to the fabric of public life," she felt that it "formed a security corridor to ensure safety."

The United Nations International Court ruled in 2004 that the barrier violated international law and should be dismantled. In September, the Supreme Court of Israel issued a decision that rejected the U.N. court's order but mandated that Israel reroute certain areas of the fence.

Procaccia said the Israeli court had more information about the issue than its UN counterpart. "We had different data and we received information from the [Israeli] military," she said. "They gave us a full set of material[s] with all the information needed for defense."

Procaccia also noted some of the more emotional trials over which she has presided. The testimony of Israeli soldiers in several cases was particularly jarring.

"The soldiers cried as each told their story," she said. "The burst of emotions was so intense, we could not proceed with hearings."

Procaccia said she felt that both American and international media inaccurately portray the political situation in Israel. "The public should have a market of ideas and information and the [current] portrayal of events is untrue," she said.

From her experiences, Procaccia said she hopes that in the future, the court will be able to accomplish more and work toward what she perceived to be the court's ultimate goal.

"We try to build a bridge to harmonize between conflicting situations and represent respect for the dignity of man," she said.