Security Officials Urge Investigation Into Rabbi Gedalia Axelrod

Former security chiefs and politicians are calling for a criminal investigation into Rabbi Gedalia Axelrod after he issued a religious decree.

The decree declares that political leaders who cooperate with Arab parties are subject to the “law of the pursuer.” The handwritten letter from Axelrod argues that such political collaboration “poses a terrible danger to the people of Israel in the Holy Land and around the world.”

Axelrod is a former head of the Haifa Rabbinical Court. The doctrine of “din rodef,” or law of the pursuer, historically permits the use of lethal force to stop a person who is deemed to be endangering the lives of others.

Security Officials and MK Urge Investigation into Rabbi's Words

A group of top security officials, including ex-heads of the Shin Bet and Mossad, sent a letter on Thursday to Maj.-Gen. Boaz Balet.

Balet is the head of the police Investigations and Intelligence Division. The signatories urged authorities to act “before our fears are realized and we are, God forbid, witness to the next political murder in Israel.”

The letter explicitly warns that the rabbi’s words should not be dismissed as “delusional” because they serve as a “clear call to violent action” for his supporters. MK Michal Rozin also submitted a formal complaint, arguing that the declaration crosses the line from religious expression into incitement.

Rozin said that “the last time law enforcement turned a blind eye to the application of a ‘din rodef’ against elected leadership, it ended in the assassination of a prime minister.” She referred to the 1995 killing of Yitzhak Rabin.

Joint List MK Ofer Cassif similarly appealed to the State Attorney on Thursday. He said that authorities must act against anyone who “threatens, incites, or legitimizes killing elected officials for exercising the public mandate given to them.”

Chabad-Lubavitch Movement Distances Itself

The Chabad-Lubavitch movement has formally distanced itself from the former judge. Rabbi Shimi Segal clarified that Axelrod does not hold a leadership position.

Segal is the organization’s spokesman in Israel. Axelrod is not a member of the official Chabad rabbinical court, which determines the movement’s religious rulings.

Rabbi Axelrod is not a member of this court and does not fill a function in the leadership of Chabad. His words and letters reflect his own personal opinion.

Rabbi Shimi Segal, Chabad spokesman in Israel

Advocacy Groups Respond

The Center for Victims of Racism has filed an official complaint with the Israel Police and prosecutors.

The group demanded an investigation into possible offenses of incitement to violence, solicitation of murder, and incitement to racism. Not all reactions were calls for prosecution.

Shai Glick criticized the move as an attempt to silence rabbis. Glick is the director of the civil rights organization B’Tsalmo.

“The Knesset has barely begun, and the silencing has already started,” Glick said on Thursday. He argued that public figures should not face criminal charges for expressing halachic positions.