Israeli police detain dozens after ultra-Orthodox rioters attack deputy Supreme Court chief justice's home

Israeli police detained dozens of ultra-Orthodox rioters on Wednesday after they vandalized and attempted to break into the home of Supreme Court Deputy Chief Justice Noam Sohlberg in Alon Shvut, a Jewish community in Judea south of Jerusalem.

Images from the scene showed shattered windows, destroyed flowerpots outside the front entrance, and a smashed windshield on a vehicle parked in the garage.

Rioters also placed an Israeli flag bearing a swastika in place of the Star of David. Sohlberg and his wife were reportedly inside the home during the attack. Police later prevented some of the suspects from fleeing as they attempted to board a bus.

The incident comes amid growing tensions over military conscription for ultra-Orthodox men. Sohlberg has been critical of the government's failure to enforce enlistment requirements and was part of a nine-member judicial panel that ruled in 2024 against long-standing exemptions from mandatory military service for ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students.

Mrs. Meira Sohlberg condemned the attack by comparing it to the Nazi Kristallnacht in 1938.

“We are children of Holocaust survivors; how can Jews hurt one another?” Mrs. Sohlberg said. “Look at this devastation; it’s a pogrom. What is this, Kristallnacht?”

The Judicial Authority condemned the riot as a “grave and unacceptable incident,” adding that it constituted “an attempt to harm the sense of security of judicial officeholders and their families.”

“Efforts to pressure, intimidate or deter judges will not influence the fulfillment of their roles. Israeli judges will continue to carry out their work professionally, independently and without fear, in accordance with the rule of law and their duty to the public,” the authority said in an official statement.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who has previously warned against growing divisions within Israeli society, condemned the riot as “a dangerous crossing of a red line.”

“Whoever tries to sow fear in the judicial system harms… the foundations of Israeli democracy. Disagreement, however deep it may be, cannot turn into violence and intimidation,” Herzog stated.

The president revealed that he spoke with Sohlberg to express his condemnation of the “threats against his and his wife’s lives.”

“I call on everyone: Stop before there is a disaster,” Herzog warned.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also condemned the attack and stressed that those responsible must be brought to justice. The premier said he “expects law enforcement officials to deal aggressively with the rioters.”

Opposition Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot, a frequent critic of the Netanyahu government, argued that “the extremist shirkers are harvesting the corrupt government’s fruits of incitement,” describing Netanyahu’s condemnation as “insufficient” and predicting that it “will not prevent the next riot.”

“Harming a judge is harming the order of the democratic system and its institutions,” Eisenkot warned in a post on 𝕏, urging the Shin Bet security agency to join the investigation.

Sohlberg has repeatedly criticized the government's enforcement of military conscription among ultra-Orthodox men. In April, he argued that the low number of arrests of ultra-Orthodox draft dodgers created “the impression of a complete failure of the police.”

Ultra-Orthodox rabbis have strongly opposed increased military enlistment, while the Netanyahu government's reliance on ultra-Orthodox coalition parties has complicated efforts to implement court-ordered changes.

Most ultra-Orthodox men currently do not serve in the Israeli military for religious and ideological reasons. However, there are signs of gradual change. It was reported last month that ultra-Orthodox enlistment increased by 24% amid efforts to integrate Haredi soldiers into the IDF through specialized service tracks.