The Center for Victims of Racism has filed a complaint with the police, the attorney general and the State Attorney's Office, demanding a criminal investigation into Rabbi Gedaliah Axelrod, the former head of the Haifa Rabbinical Court and rabbi of the city's Chabad community.
The complaint followed a public statement issued by Rabbi Axelrod, in which he ruled that party leaders who support the formation of a government that includes representatives of Arab parties, even by abstaining from a vote, are subject to "din rodef", the halachic law concerning a pursuer.
The complaint to law enforcement authorities alleged that the rabbi's remarks raise suspicions of incitement to violence, solicitation to commit murder and incitement to racism.
The complaint alleged that applying the halachic term "din rodef" to elected officials could be interpreted as permission to physically harm them.
The complainants stressed that the statement described party leaders who might support including Arab representatives in the government as those who "place the Jewish people in terrible danger".
They argued that the term "din rodef" carries particularly grave significance in Israeli public discourse, partly because of the country's political history and concerns about the use of religious justifications for acts of violence.
The complaint further alleged that portraying the participation of Arab elected officials in the government as a danger to the Jewish people constitutes incitement to racism against the Arab public.
The Center for Victims of Racism noted that representatives of the Arab parties together hold 19 Knesset seats, and argued that denying the legitimacy of their participation in government on the basis of their national identity is an expression of hostility and contempt toward the public they represent.
According to the complainants, the statement received thousands of comments and shares, including supportive comments, heightening concerns that the remarks could encourage acts of violence.
The Center for Victims of Racism therefore demanded an immediate criminal investigation into Rabbi Axelrod, as well as action to remove the statement and comments it alleges contain incitement from digital platforms.
The controversy began earlier this week, when Rabbi Axelrod issued a strongly worded public statement amid political talks on forming a new government and the possibility of cooperation with the Arab parties.
In the statement, the rabbi ruled that, according to Torah law, party leaders who support a government that includes Arab representatives, including by abstaining to allow its formation, bear responsibility for placing the Jewish people in grave danger.
The rabbi used the term "din rodef" and argued that such a political move endangers the Jewish people in Israel and the Diaspora.