Supreme Court President Yitzhak Amit Apologizes to Haredi Public

President of the Supreme Court Yitzhak Amit apologized on Thursday to the Haredi sector after remarks he made during a High Court of Justice (Bagatz) hearing caused offense. Amit had stated during the hearing, "Often, the one with a kosher phone in one pocket has a phone for calling in the other pocket. A kosher phone to show off, and one real phone."

In his apology, Amit said, "My words hurt parts of the Haredi public, and that was not my intention at all. After re-watching the recording of the hearing, I believe that given the public sensitivity of the issue, it would have been better if the statement that drew complaints had been phrased and expressed differently, and I regret that the words hurt the feelings of the complainants or others in this context."

The apology followed a complaint filed with the Complaints Commissioner for Judges, Asher Kula, after Amit's comments during the hearing. The article also notes a separate, related statement from Amit during a Bagatz hearing where he acknowledged ongoing concern about an issue, stating, "We are still bothered by this."