{"id":477067,"date":"2026-06-05T04:33:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T04:33:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/477067\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T04:33:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T04:33:12","slug":"ex-chief-justice-barak-slippery-slope-of-violence-could-end-in-murder-of-judge-civil-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/477067\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-chief justice Barak: Slippery slope of violence could end in murder of judge, civil war"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dozens of judges have contacted their court administrators to express worries in light of the attack on Supreme Court Deputy President Noam Sohlberg\u2019s home by Haredi extremists, saying they fear the violence will reach their homes and families as well, Israeli television reported Thursday.<\/p>\n

Judges also said they were concerned that Wednesday\u2019s riot<\/a> will make it harder to do their work, chilling the justice system, according to Channel 12 news.<\/p>\n

The Israel Judges\u2019 Association, which represents the interests of judges in dealings with the Israel Courts Administration, has announced meetings in all courts around the country on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. to discuss the impact of the attack on Sohlberg\u2019s home and the need to ensure that judges can perform their duties without fear.<\/p>\n

Former Supreme Court president Aharon Barak told Channel 12 that the riot has made him very worried about the safety of judges, warning that Israel was on a slippery slope that could lead to the murder of judges.<\/p>\n

Barak also expressed concern about the increasing violence in Israel in general, and the possibility that societal divisions could even lead to a civil war.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt started with protests in the courtrooms<\/a>, and\u2026 continued on to what happened with Judge Sohlberg, and it could come to the murder of a judge,\u201d Barak said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur society has become more violent for reasons that are known and we are heading for a growing national schism, and I will not be surprised that if the necessary steps aren\u2019t taken\u2026 principally by the government and principally by the prime minister, then we will even get to a civil war,\u201d he continued, adding that he does not believe such an eventuality will happen in the immediate future.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tSmashed windows are seen at the home of Supreme Court Deputy Chief Justice Noam Sohlberg in the settlement of Alon Shvut following a riot by Haredi demonstrators, June 3, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg\/Flash90)<\/p>\n

Government chastisements of top law enforcement officials are in part responsible for the increase in antipathy toward anyone involved in checking government power, Barak said. He mentioned the legislation<\/a> being advanced to gut the position of the attorney general of almost all authority, which is part of the coalition\u2019s efforts to weaken the judiciary.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s clear that there are attacks on the courts, and when there are attacks on the court and on a judge, be he conservative, activist, whatever his position is, the very fact that he acts as a check on the governing authorities bothers them and they want to be rid of him,\u201d said the former chief justice, who also expressed concern for the integrity of the upcoming elections.<\/p>\n

Barak\u2019s comments came after his successor Dorit Beinisch said earlier in the day that the attack on Sohlberg\u2019s home in the Alon Shvut settlement was another stage in the decline of Israeli democracy and the rise of violent lawlessness. She blamed 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe 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,\u201d said Beinisch. \u201cBecause if there is no need to obey the judiciary, the law, then anything is permitted \u2014 lawlessness. This is the atmosphere we are living in, and it endangers everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Current Chief Justice Isaac Amit meanwhile called<\/a> the attack an assault \u201con the entire judicial system and on the rule of law in the State of Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAttempts to exert pressure on, intimidate, or deter judges will not affect the performance of their duties. Israel\u2019s judges will continue to carry out their work professionally, independently, and without fear, in accordance with the law and their duty to the public,\u201d Amit and Judge Tzahi Ouziel, director of the Court\u2019s Office, wrote in a letter to judges and other court employees.<\/p>\n

They added that the judicial authority will take any action necessary to protect judges and other court staff.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tHaredi demonstrators push over a dumpster while rioting outside the home of Supreme Court Deputy Chief Justice Noam Sohlberg in the settlement of Alon Shvut, June 3, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg\/Flash90)<\/p>\n

The incident at Sohlberg\u2019s house was the latest violent protest against the arrest of Haredi draft dodgers at the home of a top official, which Channel 12 reported is part of a planned campaign.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a contingency plan that has been around for a while,\u201d an organizer told the network, while appearing to threaten further demonstrations. \u201cThere is more than one High Court judge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Police arrested 62 of the rioters outside Sohlberg\u2019s home, 18 of whom were freed to house arrest on Thursday. The other 44 were ordered to remain in custody until the middle of next week.<\/p>\n


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\t\t\tAlready a member? Sign in to stop seeing this<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dozens of judges have contacted their court administrators to express worries in light of the attack on Supreme…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":477068,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[121143,42,80775,110019,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-477067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-aharon-barak","tag-headlines","tag-israel-supreme-court","tag-judges","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/477067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=477067"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/477067\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/477068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=477067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=477067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=477067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}