Former Yesha Council chairman Adi Mintz wrote an open letter to High Court Justice Noam Sohlberg last week in the wake of the violent protest that took place outside his home by Chareidi extremists.
The extremists targeted Sohlberg’s home due to his ruling about a month and a half ago in which he wrote, “The state must act diligently and as quickly as possible to take real criminal measures against Chareidi draft evaders. The police must stop fearing riots and cooperate with the military police in arresting draft evaders.”
Mintz wrote: “As a member of the Religious-Zionist public, I want to be clear and unequivocal: what was done at your home was a serious criminal act. Breaking windows, committing acts of violence, and terrifying your family in Alon Shvut are acts that cannot be tolerated. No protest, no frustration, no real or imagined injustice justifies turning a judge’s home into a target. This was undoubtedly the crossing of a dangerous red line. Legitimate protest is the pillar of fire of democracy; violence is the water that extinguishes it.”
“But precisely from this scene of destruction, which chose you as its address, I wish to address an unusual appeal to you: please take upon yourself the role of the responsible adult. At this time, when significant and influential sectors of Israeli society have completely lost faith in High Court President Yitzchak Amit and see the judicial system as a political and adversarial side in the conflict, many eyes are turned toward you. As Deputy President of the Court, as someone deeply connected to both the world of Torah and the Religious Zionist community, you have a unique standing and decisive moral authority to calm the waters and lower the level of hatred, even if this isn’t the classic or formal role of a High Court justice.
“In Parshat Vayeshev, it says about Yosef’s brothers: …’ and they hated him, and they could not speak peacefully to him.’ We know very well where that hatred led: ‘They conspired against him to kill him.’ I fear that something similar, on a different scale but equally threatening, is taking place among us.
“Years ago, the Chareidi public was a ‘tolerated’ minority in the eyes of parts of Israeli society. Today, the attitude among significant sectors in Israeli society has become outright hatred—hatred that has already crossed political camps. I recently heard, with deep concern, a friend from my yishuv say: ‘I’m no longer willing to count Chareidim for a minyan. They’re not my brothers anymore.’ When tefilla itself becomes a boycott tool, it’s clear that our society is ill.”
“According to the Berl Katznelson Foundation’s hate‑speech report, Chareidim are the group most targeted with hate speech in the media. Terms like ‘parasites,’ ‘leeches,’ ‘vermin,’ ‘looters,’ and ‘enemies of the Zionist enterprise’ are used in sweeping generalizations that fail to distinguish between one person and another. We’ve heard media figures openly proposing the imposition of an ‘economic lockdown’ on Chareidi cities and denying them basic infrastructure services. Such rhetoric is common in blogs, opinion columns, and unofficial media outlets.
“A slow, prolonged, and alarming process of dehumanization is taking place in front of our eyes.
“The terrible consequences of this hatred are already exploding into the public space. We see Chareidi families—women and children—being cursed and spat on in mixed cities. We witness physical attacks on young Chareidim on buses and in shopping centers solely because of their appearance. We’re also experiencing a deep fracture within the Religious-Zionist community itself, parts of which have adopted aggressive and harsh language toward their own brothers.
“This leads to extreme Chareidi entrenchment, a deep sense of persecution that only pushes away any possibility of integration, and an irreparable rift that could paralyze the country from within at its most difficult hour.
“There is no doubt that the Chareidim also bear responsibility for this hatred. The cries of ‘We will die and not enlist,’ the hateful chants heard from young members of Peleg Yerushalmi, and foolish statements by Chareidi MKs and public leaders certainly fuel the fire. But is the question now ‘Who started’?”
“We can’t separate this dynamic from the well-funded and successful campaign by left-wing organizations that managed to penetrate even the Religious-Zionist media, aided by the organized activism of the ‘Women of the Partners in Service’ movement. This campaign turned the public debate on the draft law into toxic, hateful discourse.”
“But an equally significant contribution to this deterioration came from law‑enforcement authorities. The Attorney General’s directive to the police to launch criminal arrests of Chareidi youths who reached draft age, without distinguishing between those who sit in the tent of Torah and those who don’t, poured fuel on the fire. And what is more, it caused the Chareidi community to close ranks. Even ‘working Chareidim’ and ‘liberal Chareidim’ are now joining the struggle against the arrests.
“Unfortunately, the High Court cannot be absolved of responsibility for this unfortunate dynamic. Unprecedentedly and exceptionally harsh statements were made by the judges (including you) during the High Court’s main hearing on draft enforcement. Justice Yael Willner asked the state’s representative why the government is not forcefully arresting thousands of Chareidi draft evaders and even suggested, ‘We can prepare space in detention facilities and arrest 2,000 or 3,000 — let’s start small.’”
“You yourself described the police’s position in that hearing as ‘complete paralysis.’ I understand the desire to enforce the law, but when the High Court speaks in terms of “detention facilities” and “let’s start arresting thousands,” what message does that send to the public?
“Turning integration efforts into an aggressive criminal arrest campaign is perceived by the Chareidi public as religious persecution. It powerfully activates the principle of “as water reflects a face, so the heart of a person to another’ — hatred and force from one side generate hatred and force from the other. And these destructive results are now, tragically, shattering the windows of your own home.
“Justice Sohlberg, you are the Deputy President of the Supreme Court. For large parts of Israeli society who don’t trust Justice Amit, you are seen as a more balanced and trustworthy representative. That is a rare asset. Use it.
“To achieve this, there must be a clear and official commitment by Israeli society, led by the judicial system, which you have the power to advance, that there is no intention whatsoever to force members of the Chareidi community to abandon their religion. The frameworks established in the army must be absolutely adapted to ensure that anyone who enters them as a Chareidi will leave the security system as a Chareidi. Enlistment must be gradual and based on dialogue, built on trust — not on an arrest campaign that reminds Chareidim of persecutions they haven’t forgotten.
“The obligation to lower the level of hatred rests on all of us. But you, Honored Justice, have a unique ability right now to do so. A fire that the Court played a part in igniting—the Court must play a part in extinguishing.
“Justice Sohlberg, your position carries responsibility, and time is pressing. Through your influence and integrity, you can lead the judicial system toward a balanced, calming, and statesmanlike approach that will halt this destructive spiral, extinguish the flames, and save our shared home of all of us before it burns down completely.”
(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
