Tel Aviv Judge Rejects Mordechai David's Request to Recuse Him in Harassment Case

Tel Aviv Magistrate Court Vice President Judge Tal Havkin firmly rejected Mordechai David's request to disqualify him from presiding over a threatening harassment case filed by Hadas Klein, a key witness in the Netanyahu trials. The judge sharply criticized the motion as baseless and imposed court costs of 4,000 shekels on David, payable to the state treasury. Havkin emphasized that such frivolous disqualification requests burden the judicial system and risk undermining public trust.

David had accused Judge Havkin of left-wing political bias and claimed he was acting more like a prosecutor than an impartial judge. David's attorney, Yoram Shaptel, submitted the formal motion, alleging severe partiality against their client. Conversely, Hadas Klein's legal team, represented by Gonen Ben Yitzhak, condemned the defense's courtroom conduct as disrespectful and disruptive, accusing Shaptel of attempting to escalate a straightforward civil harassment case into a protracted legal battle akin to the Demjanjuk trial.

Judge Havkin noted that the final ruling on the harassment restraining order will be issued soon, specifically on Sunday, 17 Tammuz, to allow David and his defense team sufficient time to appeal the disqualification decision to the Supreme Court if they wish. Meanwhile, the court clerk will distribute the current ruling to both parties and await further legal steps. The judge underscored that the costs sanction was not only to compensate for expenses but also to deter misuse of judicial procedures that threaten the system's integrity.