Far-right activists block Aharon Barak from leaving event, call him ‘dictator’ and ‘criminal’

Former Supreme Court president Aharon Barak had his car blocked by right-wing activists on Wednesday while leaving an event where he said that Israel’s Declaration of Independence no longer reflects the values of the country.

In his fiery speech at an event dubbed “The First Liberal Congress” organized by the Movement for Quality Government in Israel, Barak lambasted the government and its ministers for what he said was a campaign of delegitimization against the judiciary; for failing to tackle criminal violence and murders in the Arab sector; for failing to establish a state commission of inquiry into the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attacks; and for striking a “political deal” to enshrine into law ultra-Orthodox exemptions from military service.

His comments were the latest broadside against the government, after he told anti-government protesters in Tel Aviv earlier this month that Israel was no longer a liberal democracy.

“Government ministers display contempt for the judicial branch and for its head, Supreme Court President Justice Isaac Amit. There are calls not to comply with court rulings, attacks on judges, and continuous delegitimization of the judiciary,” Barak said in his Wednesday speech. Barak is often accused by the right of entrenching judicial overreach in Israel during his years in office between 1995 and 2006.

The former Supreme Court president alleged that the delegitimization campaign against the judiciary has been prompted by “the refusal to do the obvious — to establish a state commission of inquiry following the events of October 7.”

Amit, as president of the Supreme Court, would appoint the members of such a commission were the government to establish one, and critics have alleged that the attacks on Amit are designed to justify the government’s refusal to create such a commission.

“The social covenant that underpinned the state since its establishment has been breached… rulers act in favor of sectoral interests,” continued Barak. “The Declaration of Independence no longer expresses our shared values.

“Our Arab citizens — who, under the Declaration of Independence, are entitled to full and equal citizenship — are discriminated against and exposed to violence that the police, for some reason, fail to eradicate,” he said.

He bemoaned controversial legislation being advanced by the government to enshrine military service exemptions for ultra-Orthodox men.

“Equality in sharing the burden of war has been replaced by a political deal,” he said.

After the event, right-wing activists blocked Barak from driving out of the parking lot. Far-right activist Mordechai David, together with other right-wing agitators, stopped Barak’s car from leaving, calling him a “dictator” and “criminal,” before the 89-year old retired judge was able to drive away.

בתום הכנס של התנועה לאיכות השלטון, חוסמים מרדכי דוד ופעילים נוספים את רכבו של נשיא בית המשפט העליון לשעבר, אהרן ברק, ומונעים ממנו לצאת מהמקום

(צילום: תומר אפלבאום) pic.twitter.com/NFvvh621o0

— Yair Foldes (@Yair_Foldes) January 28, 2026

In a video message played at the protest earlier this month, Barak told anti-government demonstrators gathered at Tel Aviv’s Habima Square: “All my life I’ve worked in the public service. I’m not a man who gives speeches in the city square. I’m speaking to you tonight because our life’s work — liberal democracy — is crumbling.

“Are we a liberal democracy? My answer: Not anymore,” said Barak.

Israel’s democratic backslide “didn’t happen in a single dramatic event,” he added. “It’s a process where vital aspects of democracy come under a fierce attack, and democracy is harmed.”

Barak noted that in Israel’s system of government, the prime minister effectively controls both the executive and legislative branches.

“The only body that acts as a check on the government is the court,” he said. “The court alone can’t stop our backsliding for long. Only the people, who are at the center of liberal democracy, can stop the backsliding, and even bring us back to what we were, and hoped to keep being.”

Barak was also among the signatories this month of a letter by top former judciial officials calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to rein in coalition members’ vitriolic rhetorical attacks against the judiciary, the Supreme Court, and its current head, Supreme Court President Amit.

Signatories included four former Supreme Court presidents, along with over 100 other retired judges. The judges, who are retired from positions in both the Supreme and lower courts, said the “unbridled” attacks in recent days have used language that could be understood as incitement to violence, and asserted that the vilification of the judiciary has the potential to do immediate damage to Israel’s legal system, which would undermine Israeli democracy and Zionism itself.