Israel's State Attorney Won't Investigate Rabbi Who Spoke of 'Religious Duty to Kill All Gaza Residents'
On June 30, 2026, Israel's State Attorney, Amit Aisman, decided to reject an appeal seeking the opening of a criminal investigation into Rabbi Eliyahu Mali, the head of the Shirat Moshe hesder yeshiva in Jaffa, an institution that combines advanced Jewish religious studies with military service in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The complaint stemmed from remarks he made during a lecture at a conference of hesder yeshivas on March 7, 2024, titled 'The Treatment of the Civilian Population During War.'
The complaint, which was closed by Aisman's deputy, and the subsequent appeal were submitted by us at the Tag Meir Forum after Rabbi Mali was recorded on video saying at the conference that, according to Jewish law, all residents of Gaza should be killed.
Rabbi Eliyahu Mali, the head of the religious school "Shirat Moshe," whose students continue their service in the army, during a conference for the religious school yesterday, called for the killing of children, women, and the elderly in Gaza.
Translated from Hebrew to Arabic by… pic.twitter.com/F5LYt6Xndt
— Khaled Yousry (@KhaledYousry22) March 8, 2024
Rabbi Mali said that all women and children should be killed:
"The basic rule in a mandatory war, in this case in Gaza, is: 'You shall not let any soul remain alive.' If you do not kill them, they will kill you. Today's terrorists are the children from the previous operation whom you left alive. The women are the ones who produce the terrorists... 'You shall not let any soul remain alive' is based on the principle, 'If someone comes to kill you, rise up and kill him first.' It applies not only to the 14- or 16-year-old boy, or the 20- or 30-year-old man who raises a weapon against you, but also to the future generation. And to those who produce the future generation. There is truly no difference."
He also said that all infants should be killed:
"The same applies. You cannot outsmart the Torah. Today he is an infant; tomorrow he is a fighter. There are no questions here. Today's terrorists were eight-year-old children during the previous operation. So you cannot stop halfway. That is why Gaza is different."
He also said that all elderly people should likewise be killed:
"How can that be? Today it is so self-evident logically, and there is no other logic. I was speaking specifically about the war in Gaza. There is a difference between the civilian population elsewhere and the civilian population in Gaza. In Gaza, according to estimates, 95 to 98 percent want to destroy us."
In both the complaint and the appeal, we explained that these were not merely abstract discussions of Halacha (Jewish religious law) or academic reflections – speech that Israel's Supreme Court has, in certain circumstances, held to be protected – but rather the characterisation of every resident of the Gaza Strip, including elderly people, men, women, children and infants, as enemies and terrorists posing an immediate and tangible threat to all Jews and therefore deserving of extermination. Accordingly, we argued that Rabbi Mali should be investigated on suspicion of the criminal offences of incitement to genocide, incitement to violence, and incitement to terrorism under Israeli criminal law.
Rabbi Mali opened his lecture by saying: "Because this is a sensitive subject, and I was told that people upload these things to the internet, I want to begin by saying that the bottom line is that one must do exactly what the Israel Defense Forces' orders say." Later in the lecture, he reiterated this point and also referred to international conventions. In his decision rejecting our appeal, State Attorney Aisman wrote that he had watched the video and concluded that Rabbi Mali's repeated clarifications throughout the lecture – that one must comply with Israeli law, IDF orders and the requirements of international law – eliminated any suspicion that a criminal offence had been committed.
In the complaint and the appeal, we argued that far-right activists understand such statements as granting rabbinical legitimacy to the killing of Palestinian civilians, and that Rabbi Mali is not the only public figure in Israel to employ this kind of wink. Other extremist politicians and rabbis have likewise called for atrocities against the Palestinian population while adding that such acts should preferably be carried out by the state authorities or in accordance with the law.
Moreover, the argument that Rabbi Mali should be immune from criminal investigation because he genuinely meant that all Gaza residents should be killed only to the extent permitted by law is absurd, since neither international law nor Israeli law permits the extermination of an entire civilian population, including women, children, infants and the elderly – a legal reality that Rabbi Mali could reasonably be expected to have understood.
We warned that, given Rabbi Mali's public standing and the broad political and public support in Israel for exacting revenge against the entire civilian population of the Gaza Strip following Hamas's crimes since October 7, there was a real possibility that acts of violence would be committed as a result of his remarks.
On January 26, 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued provisional measures ordering that "The State of Israel shall take all measures within its power to prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to commit genocide in relation to members of the Palestinian group in the Gaza Strip." Even Aharon Barak, the former president of Israel's Supreme Court, who sat on the court as an ad hoc judge, supported that order.
The decision by State Attorney Amit Aisman to reject the appeal was not an isolated case, but rather part of a broader approach. Aisman and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara have pursued a policy of granting complete immunity to Jews – particularly right-wing and far-right elected officials, public figures, rabbis, and political activists – who have called for the killing, burning, or expulsion of all Palestinian civilians. This includes dozens of complaints submitted by us at the Tag Meir Forum alleging incitement offences, most of which were closed without even the opening of a criminal investigation.
Eitay Mack is an Israeli lawyer and human rights activist.
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