The website of the special rabbinical court established by Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu to address sexual abuse cases has been hit by two severe cyberattacks in recent days.
According to the court, the latest incident occurred last night, when approximately 457 million simultaneous visits were launched against the site in an apparent attempt to crash its operations. The overload disabled the servers and temporarily halted the website’s activity.
This was the second such attack in recent weeks and is believed to have been carried out through bots operating from China, the US, and other countries. The court’s cyber team worked to restore the site to full functionality.
Dayanim Rabbi Zion Boaron and Rabbi Aharon Yarchi have also been subjected in recent weeks to an escalating campaign of harassment, including the posting of pashkevils against them, acts of violence, and forged signatures in their names.
Experts believe the cyberattacks and harassment originate from criminal elements linked to a rabbi from Elad, against whom the court recently issued a public warning after he allegedly exploited a woman in distress. The attacks are seen as an attempt to intimidate the dayanim and disrupt the court’s activities.
The court is considering filing a complaint with police or contacting the National Cyber Directorate and is consulting with legal advisers on how to respond and prevent further attacks.
In a statement, the special court said: “This involves a rabbi with significant financial resources and questionable ties to criminals, who seeks revenge for our warning to the community about his repeated exploitation of women in distress. The court is determined to continue its work against such sex offenders. The Torah defines such acts as murder. No bullying or violence will help — we will not be deterred.”