The Movement for Quality Government in Israel demanded that the government launch an investigation into Shas party spiritual leader Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef after he verbally attacked Attorney-General Gali Baharav Miara on Saturday.
According to videos shared on social media, Yosef said that Miara was "crazy" and said that "The Holy One, blessed be He, will destroy her. He will strike her. This will not pass in silence."
According to the Movement for Quality Government in Israel, Yosef's comments came against a background of "a climate that has unfortunately become prevalent, including calls, actions, and inflammatory statements by senior figures in the ultra-Orthodox movement."
As such, the movement claimed, his words raised the possibility of inciting others to actual violence against the attorney-general.
Not first time Shas rabbi used influence to attack rule of law, MQG lawyer says
Attorney Yael Bloch, head of the litigation division of the Movement for Quality Government in Israel, said that, while it was legal to criticize the decisions of the attorney-general, it was not permitted for those criticisms to cross the line into incitement to violence.
"This is not the first time that Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef has used his position and influence to attack the rule of law and the gatekeepers," she stated. "We do not determine whether a crime was committed - that is the job of the enforcement authorities. Now they must look into the matter seriously and quickly.
Yosef's outburst came following the attorney-general's instruction to postpone governmental memorial events for the co-founder of the Shas party, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef's death.