Far-right researcher says ex-chief justice’s body should be burned when he dies, later deletes post

Far-right former intelligence analyst Eliyahu Yosian says former Supreme Court president Aharon Barak’s body should be burned upon his death, and that he should not be buried in Israel.

Yosian, who now conducts research and lectures on Iran and the Islamic Revolution, deletes the X post shortly after drawing backlash on social media.

“Good morning to the Jewish nation,” Yosian wrote on X, along with a picture of Barak in a wheelchair. “He cannot have a grave in the State of Israel. This is a desecration of the people of Israel, the land of Israel, and the State of Israel. This is a desecration of the Jewish state. His body must be burned in this world and his soul in the next,” he wrote.

Barak has long been reviled by many on the hard right for his activist approach during his tenure. The Netanyahu government’s judicial overhaul plan is aimed at sidelining the powers assumed by Israel’s highest court during his time as chief justice, and the retired judge has been vocally critical of the effort.

Yosian’s calls to kill “at least 50,000 Gazans” in the days immediately after the October 7, 2023, massacre drew attention in Israel.