In exclusive recordings obtained by Channel 14 News, a Hadera Magistrate’s Court judge can be heard making highly offensive remarks to two Chareidi witnesses during a case she presided over.

The judge said to one of the witnesses: “Sir, you’re speaking at lightning speed. I know you’re used to going to tefillos at shul and finishing them very quickly. You race through the tefillos at a crazy pace. No one besides you can understand the tefillos. But here we speak slowly—we need to understand what you’re saying.”

In another recording involving a different witness in the same case, she commented on a document he had submitted, saying, “Is this your affidavit? This tzetele (Yiddish for ‘note’) that you brought with you?” The witness replied, “Yes. You call it a tzetele, but for us it’s an important document.”

Following these remarks, the two witnesses filed a complaint with the Ombudsman for Complaints Against Judges, Asher Kula, arguing that the statements demonstrate a disparaging attitude toward Chareidim, contempt for their beliefs and customs, and conduct that undermines public confidence in the judicial system and the fair administration of justice.

In her response, the judge said she may have chosen her words poorly but that she had no intention of offending the witnesses. She claimed that she was merely trying to speak in terms familiar to them and apologized for her remarks.

Following her response, Kula decided to close the complaint but noted that judges must be careful with their language. In his decision, he wrote: “Even if the judge’s explanations are correct… anyone sitting in judgment must always be careful with their words and pay attention to how they may be perceived from an objective standpoint. The judge did the right thing by apologizing in her response for her remarks to the witnesses.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)