Supreme Court Chief Justice Isaac Amit warned on Wednesday that verbal attacks by public officials and on social media can pave the way for physical violence against judges and lawyers, calling for restraint as Israel’s election campaign intensifies.
“The path to physical violence first passes through verbal violence,” Amit said at a special Israel Bar Association conference in Tel Aviv, convened following the killing of attorney Arbel Feldman at his Rishon LeZion office last month.
Violence against legal professionals does not occur in isolation, Amit noted, arguing that degrading public discourse about judges inevitably reaches courtrooms and the lawyers working in them.
The conference had originally been intended to mark the opening of the legal year, Amit said, but was repurposed after Feldman was shot dead on August 4.
Amit described the killing as part of what he characterized as a wider period of verbal and physical violence directed at lawyers and other legal professionals because of their work.
Such violence risks damaging more than the individuals targeted, he said. Lawyers serve as the link between citizens, the law, and the state; threats may deter them from taking controversial or difficult cases, meeting clients alone, or representing them effectively.
Amit said some courts had closed proceedings to the public and used live broadcasts because of concerns about disturbances. In more serious cases, he said, court security personnel have escorted lawyers and litigants to their vehicles.
He also cited the June riot outside the Alon Shvut home of Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, in which protesters damaged the house and Sohlberg’s car while members of his family were inside.
Dozens were detained following the disturbance. Amit said the incident had been intended to intimidate Sohlberg and other judges over their judicial work.
He also referred to recent verbal attacks against Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court Deputy President Oren Silverman and Nazareth-Nof Hagalil Magistrate’s Court Deputy President Ruth Spielberg-Cohen, though he did not identify the speakers or statements involved.
Election campaign necessitates careful action by public figures
Amit placed particular emphasis on the election campaign, warning that heated political disagreement increased the responsibility of public figures and others to choose their language carefully.
“An election campaign is, by nature, a period of disagreement, criticism, and struggle over ideas and the direction of the country,” he said. “But precisely during such a period, we all bear greater responsibility to act with restraint.”
At the end of the conference, the Bar Association and five other professional organizations signed a joint charter titled “Workers Without Fear.”
The organizations agreed to establish a permanent forum addressing violence against workers and professionals, promote legislative changes and reporting mechanisms, and coordinate with the government, Knesset, police, and other enforcement authorities.
The signatories included representatives for teachers, nurses, social workers, public-health physicians, and public-transportation drivers. They also committed to responding collectively to serious attacks against members of any one of the participating professions.
Israel Bar Association head Amit Becher called Feldman’s killing the most severe expression of what he described as an expanding pattern of threats and violence against lawyers.
“Harming lawyers is harming the rule of law,” Becher said, calling for faster enforcement, deterrent penalties, and measures to protect lawyers facing credible threats.
The Bar Association will seek legislation equating an assault on a lawyer with an assault on a public servant, he said.
Representatives of the other organizations said the problem extended well beyond the legal profession. Teachers, nurses, social workers, doctors, and bus drivers described workers facing threats and assaults while providing essential public services, often without adequate staffing or protection.
Suspect indicted for murder of Arbel Feldman
Feldman, a father of three, was killed after a former client allegedly entered his office and shot him several times, according to police and prosecutors.
A prosecutor’s statement was filed on August 25, formally notifying the court that charges were being prepared. The following day, the Central District Attorney’s Office indicted Ahmad Alargov, 24, of Ramle, in the Central District Court in Lod.
Alargov was charged with murder under aggravated circumstances, carrying a weapon and ammunition, destroying evidence, and obstructing justice.
According to the indictment, Feldman represented Alargov in civil proceedings involving an approximately NIS 18,000 insurance claim following a road accident.
Prosecutors allege that Alargov became dissatisfied with the pace of the claim, armed himself with a loaded semiautomatic handgun, and fired six shots at Feldman at close range.
The indictment describes a dispute between Feldman and a former client and does not allege a political motive.
Amit nevertheless used the killing as the starting point for a broader warning about violence against legal professionals and the effect of hostile public discourse on the justice system.