Supreme Court president: ‘Verbal violence’ by public officials, on social media leading to physical attacks

Supreme Court President Isaac Amit says recent violence against lawyers and judges is the result of “verbal violence” against legal professionals by public officials and on social media.

Amit makes his comments during an “emergency conference” held by the Israel Bar Association to combat violence against lawyers and legal professionals in the wake of the recent murder of attorney Arbel Feldman

“Sadly, it appears that this incident is part of a broader phenomenon that has emerged in recent times, in which we have witnessed violence — both verbal and physical — directed at lawyers and legal professionals solely because they are carrying out their duties,” says Amit.

He references a riot by ultra-Orthodox men at the home of Supreme Court Deputy President Noam Sohlberg in June, saying the attack was designed to deter Sohlberg and other judges from performing their duty, and points to recent verbal assaults against other judges as well.

Hebrew media reported earlier this week that Police Commissioner Daniel Levy  ordered Sohlberg’s security detail to be bolstered after being briefed on new threats against the judge, who is also the chair of the Central Elections Committee.

“Violence against lawyers and judges does not grow in a vacuum; the road to physical violence first passes through verbal violence. And if you wish to know the soil in which the seeds of violence against the justice system are sown, look to the statements of public figures, turn to social media — and there you will find the answer,” says the Supreme Court president.

In December last year, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called Amit a “violent megalomaniac” and vowed to “trample him,” while Justice Minister Yariv Levin called the Supreme Court justices “common dictators,” and other cabinet ministers have used similarly harsh language in the wake of rulings unfavorable to the government.

Amit adds in his speech that during the current election campaign, “we all bear a heightened responsibility to act with moderation, choose our words carefully, and conduct substantive and respectful discourse.”