Israel Azgaway, a 36-year-old British national studying at a yeshiva linked to Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, was named Sunday as the suspect in death threats he made against Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara. The Jerusalem Magistrate Court remanded his detention pending further decisions.
Azgaway told authorities his request to Rabbi Yosef for a “din rodef” (pursuer’s law) ruling to permit her murder according to Jewish law stemmed from the conscription of ultra-Orthodox Jews into the IDF, which he deemed “a matter of life and death.” After receiving Azgaway’s letter, Rabbi Yosef forbade the request and notified the authorities.
In court, Azgaway explained, “The conscription issue brings great sorrow to the ultra-Orthodox community. I expressed that grief and occasionally a thought to act crossed my mind, but I always dismissed it. With ongoing news reports, it returned and I’d push it away until it faded.
“Last Tuesday, I realized I wanted to ease my conscience, so I asked the rabbi, a leader of our community, hoping he’d say no and free me from these thoughts. Thank God, he did. I apologize and regret my actions. I let my imagination run wild. I hope to be someone the nation takes pride in.”
The police prosecutor detailed how Azgaway sought urgent access to Rabbi Yosef, handing his typed letter—prepared the previous night—in a sealed envelope via the rabbi’s aide, citing “pikuach nefesh” (saving a life), a halachic principle on the importance of preserving human life.
“The mixed multitude (a group of non-Israelites who left Egypt with the Israelites during the Exodus) defiles God’s name through actions against the Torah world; I’m willing to kill the attorney general if I get approval from three elders. Without it, I won’t act,” the letter said.
The words prompted swift action. Religious Services Ministry Director-General Yehudah Avidan wrote to Police Commissioner Danny Levy, relaying an urgent alert from Rabbi Yosef’s office.
Azgaway’s public defender argued his client suffers from post-traumatic stress and sought the rabbi’s prohibition to calm his mind. “The attorney general wasn’t threatened. Neither she nor the rabbi was interrogated. There’s no evidence of a threat, factually or otherwise,” he said.
The judge, however, ruled, “After reviewing all investigation materials, including Azgaway’s interrogation, I find prima facie evidence of the charges. His rigid religious worldview emerged when he called the attorney general part of a government ignoring the people’s will, viewing her as ‘the wicked regime.’
“This is a grave act showing audacity and significant danger. Amid societal disputes in Israel, threats against officials across the political spectrum and public servants have risen—a dangerous trend with unpredictable consequences.”
The judge lifted a prior gag order, allowing Azgaway’s name to be published. “The principle is that courts operate openly unless law or special circumstances dictate otherwise. Publicity is a cornerstone of Israel’s legal system,” he said, stressing the case’s severity.