Beersheba District Court president Benny Sagi dies in Highway 6 car crash

Beersheba District Court President Benny Sagi was killed in a car crash on Highway 6, with police investigating the incident and leaders across Israel mourning his death.

Beersheba District Court President Benny Sagi died in a car accident on Highway 6, a police spokesperson confirmed Sunday evening.

A vehicle came from an open area, hitting Sagi, who was riding his motorcycle, seriously injuring him.

Magen David Adom paramedics attended the scene, saying he showed no signs of life and were forced to pronounce him dead.

Israeli police are investigating the circumstances that led to the incident.

Israeli politicians and members of the judiciary reacted to the news of Sagi’s death.

“I learned with shock and great sadness the news of Sagi’s untimely death,” Justice Minister Yariv Levin wrote.

He was “a brilliant jurist, an exceptional judge, loved and respected by both lawyers and litigants,” he added.

“I knew Sagi during my internship at the Central District Prosecutor’s Office about 20 years ago, when he was a prosecutor,” said Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana.

“He was an upright and honest man, very competent in criminal law, endowed with a rare ability to find ways of compromise and agreement,” he recalled.

“He was head and shoulders above the rest, but even as president of a district court his heart did not become haughty, and his characteristic modesty and humility accompanied him even in this high position. He also had a sense of humor quite rare in this profession,” Ohana continued.

Herzog: “A brilliant and quick-witted jurist”

“Sagi was a brilliant and quick-witted jurist, a formidable judge who combined immense professional knowledge with exceptional integrity,” commented President Isaac Herzog.

“I was constantly impressed from afar by the rare combination he embodied – a judge of stature and authority, with a moving personal story, who was known as a man of values, humble and caring, who always saw the person standing before him and fought for peace and mediation,” he added.

“Sagi was a talented and promising judge – a leader loved and admired by all who knew him, who achieved professional achievements from a young age, and his death is a great loss to the justice system in which he served,” said a spokesperson for the judiciary.

“Sagi was a man who stood head and shoulders above others. Proof of the uniqueness and depth of the loss is the fact that, in such a turbulent and polarized time, he represented a consensus of excellence both as a judge and as a manager of the justice system,” wrote Amit Becher, president of the Israel Bar Association.

“He was a people person, and I considered him a role model and a source of inspiration, and an ideal candidate to occupy the highest positions in the judiciary. His tragic death is a loss to the IBA and to me personally,” he concluded.

“Sagi was a central and respected figure in the justice system, a jurist of stature and a public servant who acted with dedication, professionalism and deep public responsibility,” the Justice Department said.