Several extreme right-wing activists on Tuesday surrounded and blocked the car of former Supreme Court president Aharon Barak as he was leaving a conference in Tel Aviv, preventing the vehicle from moving for several minutes.
Footage from the scene shows activist Mordechai David and several others - some wearing masks - encircling Barak’s car outside an event organized by the Movement for Quality Government, in what it called its first Liberal Congress.
“This is the dictator who appointed his wife and his daughter,” David said in a video filmed at the scene, falsely claiming nepotism. “The criminal has been blocked.”
“For the democracy of Israel,” he added, repeating the phrase several times. “The dark dictator was blocked. This is a man who called Bibi a dictator.”
“This is for Israeli democracy, for all those who fell in the war, and for liberal democracy,” David said, before adding, “Fortunately, his generation has passed. A new generation has arrived - the generation of the days of the messiah.”
Supreme Court president, Holocaust survior
After several minutes, Barak’s vehicle was able to leave the area.
Barak, 89, is a Holocaust survivor and one of Israel’s most prominent jurists. He served as Supreme Court president from 1995 to 2006 and retired from the bench nearly two decades ago. In 2024, he agreed to sit as Israel’s ad hoc judge at the International Court of Justice during proceedings initiated by South Africa.
The incident comes amid heightened tensions between the judiciary and elements of the political system, following prolonged disputes over judicial appointments, challenges to the authority of the courts, and repeated attacks - verbal and procedural - against judges and legal officials.
Opposition head and Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid condemned the incident, writing that “it is inconceivable that a group of thugs would harass an 89-year-old man, a Holocaust survivor, simply because he does not share their views.”
Lapid added that Israel Police “must deal with these extremists decisively and put an end to this violence.”
David has been involved in multiple confrontations in recent months, particularly targeting journalists and public figures identified with criticism of the government.
Following hearings in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s criminal trial, David tracked and followed independent journalist Orly Bar-Lev to her car and Channel 13 correspondent Aviad Glickman to a train station. He has also confronted Channel 12 reporter Guy Peleg in connection with reporting on the Sde Teiman detention facility leak.
The Movement for Quality Government said it had filed a police complaint against David and the other government supporters, adding that the incident constituted a serious breach of public order, harassment, and obstruction of traffic, describing it as a continuation of what it termed a violent pattern of behavior by David.
Dr. Eliad Shraga, chairman of the Movement for Quality Government, said, “Mordechai David is the long arm of the government behind the regime overhaul.” He alleged that David maintains close ties with Justice Minister Yariv Levin and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, is invited to Knesset committee meetings as a guest of honor, and is publicly praised by coalition ministers and lawmakers.
“We demand that police investigate this serious incident and bring all those involved to justice. When thugs block the car of a former Supreme Court president, this is not protest - it is organized harassment designed to intimidate anyone who dares stand in the way of the regime overhaul.”
Earlier this week, David and activist Roi Star were questioned by police on suspicion of harassment following an incident outside the home of social activist Sigal Shukrun.
According to Shukrun and footage from home security cameras, the two arrived at her home late Monday night, violently knocking on the door and confronting her and her family. Shukrun told N12 that the men arrived carrying a metal rod, and that during the confrontation, her partner was struck and lightly injured.
Shukrun said the incident followed a series of threats she had received online, including a video posted by Star in which he publicized her phone number and identified her home address.
“We were sitting together as a family when we heard the knocking and immediately understood who it was,” she said. “When we tried to get them to leave, the encounter turned physical.”
David has also clashed with lawmakers. After a confrontation with Democrats MK Naama Lazimi at the Knesset, Lazimi wrote on X that David and Star were “thugs and protégés of government ministers” who had carried out violent and threatening harassment against a civilian.
Last week, Star was filmed forcibly entering a private Palestinian home in Ras al-Auja in the West Bank, where left-wing activists were providing protective presence to the family. Footage shows him harassing activists at the scene and using pepper spray.
Police have not announced whether further investigative steps are expected in connection with the incidents.