Court again dismisses claim DC rabbi stalked anti-Israel protesters
The District of Columbia Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s ruling that denied the request of two anti-Israel protesters for a stalking order against Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld.The ruling on Thursday from Washington’s highest court also called a $182,000 award for the rabbi’s legal bills into question.The case centered on three protests in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington in the spring of 2024. Herzfeld, a former pulpit rabbi at a prominent district Modern Orthodox synagogue who now runs a religious school, came to the site three times to pray for hostages, then still held in Gaza, or to respond to months-long anti-Israel protests led by Atefeh Rochvand and Hazami Barmada.The latter two used megaphones and noise machines in their protests outside the embassy, per court documents.What the rabbi said was contested in trial, but the court found that the anti-Israel protesters didn’t meet the burden of showing that…
The District of Columbia Court of Appeals upheld a lower court's decision to deny a stalking order against Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld, sought by anti-Israel protesters Atefeh Rochvand and Hazami Barmada. The case stemmed from three incidents in spring 2024 where Herzfeld counter-protested outside the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C., to pray for hostages or respond to anti-Israel demonstrations. The court ruled that Herzfeld's comments, such as calling protesters "wicked people" and stating "we will defeat them," fell "comfortably on the protected-speech side of the line between political hyperbole and true threats." While affirming the dismissal of the stalking claim, the appeals court questioned a $182,000 award for Herzfeld's legal fees under anti-SLAPP laws, remanding that specific issue back to the trial court for clarification.
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