Heckler accuses Isaac Amit of 'not being worthy' of laying wreath at Oct. 7 memorial ceremony

Supreme Court President Isaac Amit was accused of being unworthy of laying a remembrance wreath by a heckler at the October 7 national memorial ceremony, according to footage of the event shared by Israeli media on Monday. As Amit stood to lay the wreath, a member of the crowd was heard shouting that he was "not worthy."״לא מגיע לך להניח זר״ - אזרח התפרץ לעבר נשיא בית המשפט העליון יצחק עמית בטקס הממלכתי ל-7.10 https://t.co/KaQFGHtpBH— מיכאל שמש Michael Shemesh (@shemeshmicha) October 5, 2026Amit laid a wreath at the memorial site on Mount Herzl alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and several others.Amit was selected in January 2025 and sworn in at the President's Residence the following month, in a ceremony boycotted by Netanyahu, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, and Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, with no government ministers present. Levin said at the time that he would neither sign Amit's appointment together with Herzog nor work with him in any capacity.Attacks on Amit have also been personal. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called him a "violent, predatory megalomaniac." Amit warns of dangerous hostility towards judges The feud is rooted in the coalition's broader effort to curb the court's power. Levin unveiled a sweeping overhaul of the judicial system in 2023, together with MK Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionist Party), setting off months of mass nationwide protests that only halted with the October 7 massacre.In March 2025, the Knesset passed a scaled-back version of one of the overhaul's central planks, changing the makeup of the Judicial Selection Committee to increase political involvement in appointing judges. Amit has warned that hostile rhetoric toward judges could turn dangerous. Addressing an Israel Bar Association conference in September, he cautioned that verbal attacks pave the way to physical violence and urged restraint as the election campaign intensifies.He pointed to a June riot outside the Alon Shvut home of Deputy Supreme Court President Noam Sohlberg, in which protesters damaged the house and his car while his family was inside.Sarah Ben-Nun contributed to this report.