Rabbi faces calls for incitement probe over lethal ruling against those who work with Arab parties
Ex-top security officials, left-wing politicians warn of Rabin assassination repeat after Chabad rabbi issues decree justifying violence against those who enable coalition with Arab parties
Several former security chiefs, a racism watchdog and left-wing politicians on Thursday demanded authorities investigate a Haifa Chabad rabbi for incitement after he issued a religious decree against any political party head who facilitates the establishment of a government backed by Arab-majority parties.
Rabbi Gedalia Axelrod, a former head of the Haifa Rabbinical Court, penned an open letter saying those who support a government established with the support of the Joint List and Ra’am “put the people of Israel in terrible danger,” issuing a din rodef — a religious decree applied to grave offenders, giving halachic approval to stop them by any means, even if this requires killing them.
The label, literally meaning “law of the pursuer,” became infamous in Israeli political history after Yigal Amir, the assassin of prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, cited it as a religious justification for the murder in November 1995. The term has no standing in Israeli law.
In response, several former top security officials, including ex-heads of the Shin Bet and Mossad, on Thursday urged an investigation “before our fears are realized and we are, God forbid, witness to the next political murder in Israel,” in a letter to Deputy Commissioner Boaz Blatt, who heads the police’s investigations and intelligence division.
Among the 20 who signed the letter were former Shin Bet heads Carmi Gillon and Ami Ayalon, former Mossad heads Ami Ayalon, Danny Yatom, Tamir Pardo, and former defense minister Moshe Ya’alon.
Citing the lethal intent of the ruling, the letter said, “Rabbi Axelrod’s words should not be underestimated or dismissed as delusional: for Torah scholars, and the rabbi’s supporters, his words are a clear call to violent action. As such, they clearly exceed the limits of freedom of expression.”
בפעם הקודמת שהמנהיגים עצמו עיניים מול "דין רודף" נגד הנהגה נבחרת, זה נגמר בשלוש יריות בכיכר וברצח של ראש ממשלה בישראל.
אי אפשר לשתוק יותר מול ההסתה המשתוללת!
דבריו של הרב גדליה אקסלרוד, שמשתמש במושג "דין רודף" כנגד ממשלה שתישען על נציגי ציבור ערבים, הם חציית קו אדום בוהק ומסוכן… pic.twitter.com/mqApoxJoZY— מיכל רוזין (@Michal_Rozin) November 12, 2026
The letter called for him to be investigated for incitement to violence or racism.
The Center for Victims of Racism also said they submitted a complaint to the police and state prosecutors.”The appeal sends a clear message: incitement to violence and racism cannot be granted religious kosher status,” it said on Facebook.
Additionally, Democrats MK Michal Rozin submitted her own complaint to State Attorney Amit Aisman, saying Axelrod’s declaration did not constitute freedom of speech and should be investigated for incitement to violence.
“The last time law enforcement turned a blind eye to the application of a ‘din rodef’ against elected leadership, it ended in the assassination of a prime minister,” she wrote, referencing Rabin’s assassination.
Joint List MK Ofer Cassif sent a similar letter to Aisman, telling him, “It is clearly incumbent upon the law enforcement authorities to act with particular vigilance during this period against anyone who threatens, incites, or legitimizes killing elected officials for exercising the public mandate given to them.”
Haifa’s Mayor Yoha Yahav said the use of a din rodef is a “serious and dangerous act that crosses every red line.”
“No one, not even someone with the title of rabbi, must be allowed to authorize political violence,” he wrote in a post on Facebook, calling on law enforcement to investigate.
A spokesperson for Chabad in Israel, Rabbi Shimi Segal, said, “Chabad’s official halakhic positions are determined exclusively by Chabad’s rabbinic court,” when asked by the Haaretz daily if the rabbi’s opinion reflected the organization’s opinion.
“Rabbi Axelrod is not a member of this court and does not fill a function in the leadership of Chabad. His words and letters reflect his own personal opinion,” Segal added.
Arab parties, including Ra’am (8) and the Joint List (11), control 19 seats in the Knesset, but the leaders of all the Zionist anti-Netanyahu parties, other than the Democrats’ Yair Golan, have rejected them as partners in a potential government.