'A pogrom': Haredi rioters smash windows, damage home of deputy Supreme Court chief

Dozens of ultra-Orthodox extremists targeted the home of Supreme Court Deputy Chief Justice Noam Sohlberg in Alon Shvut, smashing windows and causing property damage in a riot Wednesday night. The violent demonstration was the latest in a series of protests against law enforcement over the arrest of Haredi draft dodgers.

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

Images from the scene showed shattered windows, broken flowerpots, and a car in the garage with a smashed windshield. A small Israeli flag bearing a swastika in place of the Star of David was also found. Sohlberg and his wife were home during the attempted break-in. Police stopped a bus carrying demonstrators as they tried to flee, detaining dozens of suspects.

While the specific reason for targeting Sohlberg was not immediately clear, he has been a vocal critic of the government's failure to enforce conscription. He previously stated that the low number of arrests of ultra-Orthodox draft dodgers gave "the impression of a complete failure of the police." Sohlberg was also part of the judicial panel that invalidated exemptions to mandatory military service for ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students.

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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.

Sohlberg's wife, Meira, described the scene as a "pogrom" and compared it to "Kristallnacht," questioning how Jews could harm one another. The Judicial Authority decried the incident as "grave and unacceptable," asserting that efforts to intimidate judges would not affect their work. Israeli politicians, including President Isaac Herzog, condemned the attack, with Herzog calling it a "dangerous crossing of a red line" that harms the foundations of Israeli democracy.

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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.