In a major embarrassment to Israel’s High Court, Channel 12 correspondent Amit Segal exposed a farce—with two left-wing justices jumping over hoops to defend a fellow leftist.

The incident occurred during a recent hearing on petitions against the government’s decision to stop advertising in the Haaretz newspaper due to its incessant blood libels about Israel and IDF soldiers. During the hearing, Justice Khaled Kabub read aloud a quote from Haaretz publisher Amos Schocken: “The acts of slaughter on October 7 were criminal acts.”

Justice Daphne Barak‑Erez backed her colleague, adding: “To be clear, we’re not quoting from newspaper reports—the quote appears in Appendix 17 of the Haaretz petition.”

A thorough review following the hearing revealed that the quote was completely fabricated. It does not appear anywhere in the petition documents or online.

In response, the Judiciary Authority issued an official response that effectively confirmed that the quote was fabricated.

The response states: “Justice Kabub referred to statements by Mr. Amos Schocken documented in the appendices to the petition submitted by Haaretz. These are Appendices 17 to 19, all of which concern Schocken’s statements. The appendices appear consecutively; for example, Appendix 18 includes the phrase ‘a shocking event.’ Appendix 19 explicitly states that Schocken clarified that ‘Hamas must say they are not freedom fighters’ and that he said the initiators and perpetrators of October 7 should be severely punished.”

“Justice Barak‑Erez noted during the hearing that Schocken’s critical remarks appear in the appendices to the petition, without quoting anything directly, as can be seen in the broadcast of the hearing.”

The report sparked harsh public criticism and serious questions about the judges’ conduct. Segal wrote, “Why was it so urgent for Justice Kabub to invent a quote from Appendix 17 that was never said in order to whitewash Shocken? And why was it so urgent for Justice Barak‑Erez to back him up by falsely confirming the quote?”

It should be noted that many complaints have been filed against Kabub, an Arab-Muslim judge, for ethical violations and pro-terror rulings. In 2024, government ministers and coalition MKs called for his impeachment after Kabub argued that a terror suspect should be released to house arrest because his co-suspects were released in exchange for hostages in Gaza.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)