Haredi reservists file police complaint over alleged incitement by journalist Haggai Huberman

Two ultra-Orthodox reserve soldiers have filed formal complaints with Israel Police against journalist and "Matzav HaRuach" editor Haggai Huberman, accusing him of incitement to murder and violence after his anti-Haredi remarks sparked public outrage. The complaints were filed separately by the two soldiers, who said they felt personally threatened by the comments.

One complainant, a graduate of the Paratroopers Brigade, wrote that the message was a "clear, severe and shocking call" for physical harm, violence and even the destruction of an entire public group to which he belongs. The second, who serves in the "Hashmonayim" Brigade, said such statements "spill my blood and the blood of my family and friends," creating a direct and real threat, especially because Huberman is a public figure with significant influence.

The uproar began after Huberman, described in reports as politically identified with Naftali Bennett, posted in a closed WhatsApp group of hundreds of media professionals the phrase, "Dogle mizman bederus kol dos, hashmed kol hared". Police had already opened an initial review of the remarks, and if it is upgraded to a criminal investigation under caution, that step would require the formal approval of the attorney general.

The article also reported two additional private messages Huberman allegedly sent to the same closed group. In one, written amid protests outside Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg's home in Alon Shvut, he wrote that local residents should "grab those hooligans and break their bones," adding, "I would do that with great pleasure." In another, he suggested that residents leave with scissors and cut one sidelock from some Haredi men, saying, "Not both sidelocks, we are not that anti-Semitic. Only one sidelock."