Israeli Reservist Seeks Disbarment of Lawyer Who Aided UK Pro-Palestinian Group Against Him

R, an Israeli-British dual citizen serving as an IDF reservist, filed a complaint with the Tel Aviv District Bar Association's Ethics Committee against attorney Michal Pomerantz. The complaint, submitted through the legal organization Shurat HaDin, demands her disbarment for allegedly assisting a pro-Palestinian group in the UK to prosecute him solely for his IDF service.

The complaint stems from Pomerantz's legal opinion supporting a criminal case initiated in the UK by the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians. This group sought to charge R after he returned to Israel and reported for reserve duty under a wartime call-up (Tzav 8) following the October 7 massacre. The charges were not related to any misconduct but targeted his mere service in the IDF, relying on a British law from 1870 originally designed to prevent British subjects from serving in foreign armies during wartime.

According to the complaint, the group intended to pursue similar cases against at least nine other British-Israeli reservists. In April 2026, Westminster Magistrates' Court dismissed the summons against R, ruling the case legally flawed, lacking evidence, and procedurally defective. The court also found the prosecution was politically motivated rather than seeking justice.

Shurat HaDin states that Pomerantz's opinion was crucial in framing R's return to Israel and reserve service as voluntary enlistment in a foreign army, misleadingly portraying Israeli law. In reality, a reserve call-up, especially under Tzav 8, is mandatory, not voluntary. Shurat HaDin's president, attorney Nitzana Darshan-Leitner, condemned Pomerantz's actions as crossing a serious ethical line by aiding an anti-Israel organization to criminalize IDF service abroad. She urged the Bar Association to act decisively to prevent lawyers from enabling persecution of IDF soldiers internationally.