Supreme Court president: Haredi rampage at justice’s home was attack on rule of law

Supreme Court President Isaac Amit denounces the attack on Deputy President Noam Sohlberg’s home last night by ultra-Orthodox rioters, calling it an attack on the entire legal system and the rule of law.

In a letter to judges and other staff in the court system, Amit extends his support to Sohlberg, who was at home with his wife, children and grandchildren during the assault, and says that efforts to frighten and intimidate judges will not work.

“The serious acts of violence directed at the deputy president [of the court] and his family are, in effect, an attack on the entire judicial system and on the rule of law in the State of Israel,” writes Amit, together with Judge Tzahi Ouziel, director of the Court’s Office.

“Attempts to exert pressure on, intimidate, or deter judges will not affect the performance of their duties. Israel’s judges will continue to carry out their work professionally, independently, and without fear, in accordance with the law and their duty to the public,” Amit and Ouziel write.

They add that the judicial authority will take any action necessary to protect judges and other court staff.

Speaking to Kan News, former Supreme Court president Dorit Beinisch says the attack on Sohlberg’s home was another stage in the decline of Israel’s democracy and the rise of violent lawlessness.

“This is a severe deterioration of democratic rule. This is the transformation of Israel into a state in which violence, thuggery, and the abolition of the principles of the rule of law are part of the norms of our lives,” says Beinisch.

The retired Supreme Court president blames the top political leadership for the deterioration in adherence to the rule of law, pointing as  one example to a comment by Justice Minister Yariv Levin earlier this week indicating that he would not abide by a High Court ruling.

“We should not be surprised [by such events], when a government minister can announce that a ruling of the High Court of Justice is illegal and that he will not comply with it,” says Beinisch. “Because if there is no need to obey the judiciary, the law, then anything is permitted — lawlessness. This is the atmosphere we are living in, and it endangers everyone.”