A federal judge in the United States is facing a formal complaint over anti-Palestinian comments and alleged association with Islamophobic groups, in a case that highlights growing concern about possible pro-Israel bias in the judicial system. Florida lawyer Katherine Giannamore filed the judicial complaint against District Judge Roy Altman earlier this month, accusing him of eroding “public confidence in the integrity, impartiality, and independence of the federal judiciary.”
The complaint, filed with the Eleventh Circuit Court, also says Altman used judicial resources to promote Israel, including by making media appearances from his chambers in Miami. “Since at least April 2026, Judge Altman has consistently engaged in this conduct during business hours, broadcasting himself live from chambers and has utilized law clerks during public talks during business hours,” the complaint reads. “These activities have been persistent, almost daily and spanned several months.”
In April, Altman appeared on a podcast with the Middle East Forum, a right-wing group whose stated mission is to combat “the infrastructure of lawful Islamism.” During the interview, he called the keffiyeh, a symbol of Palestinian identity, a “terrorism scarf.” In an interview with Al Jazeera, Giannamore pointed to such remarks as a reason for concern. “This kind of blatant use of the judicial office for your own political aspirations or your beliefs, it’s bad for the judiciary. It’s bad for public opinion as far as the legitimacy of the judiciary,” she said.
Federal judges are appointed for life. Judicial misconduct complaints go to the chief judge of a court of appeals, who can either dismiss them or appoint a special committee to investigate the claims. In rare cases, the complaints can lead to sanctions, including the decision to suspend case assignments to a given judge or a request for voluntary resignation. Giannamore believes complaints like hers can help spark a discussion about acceptable behavior within the judicial system.
Altman, a staunch supporter of Israel who was appointed by President Donald Trump in 2019, is currently promoting a self-published book defending the US ally. During his remarks with the Middle East Forum in April, he explained that he had been touring college campuses and churches to dismiss accusations of rights abuses against Israel, which has been carrying out a genocidal war on Gaza. The judge uses “Jews” and “Israel” interchangeably throughout his talks.
Altman is also a prolific social media user, and most of his posts are about Israel. In one interview, he declared that “there is no distinction” between anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism. The judge’s pro-Israel advocacy at times drifts into comments that could be seen as hostile towards Arabs and Muslims. “The real geo-strategic conflict here isn’t seven million Jews against six million Palestinians,” he said in June. “It’s seven million Jews surrounded by two billion Muslims — hundreds of millions of whom have been raised to believe that divine providence requires them to devote their lives to the destruction of that teeny, tiny Jewish state.”
Altman often promotes a travel program by the World Jewish Congress to take fellow judges on trips to Israel — visits akin to the junkets the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) gives to members of Congress. According to Giannamore’s complaint, Altman said in a speech at Florida International University that he has taken 10 percent of the federal judiciary on such trips. Such a large number of judges “coming away from foreign state-sponsored trips, where they meet with foreign political officials, is truly frightening,” the complaint said.
Giannamore suggested that possible bias acquired from the “propaganda” visits to Israel may extend beyond issues related to the conflict, but to cases involving Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims more broadly. “It goes into biases that they at least can be perceived to hold versus Palestinians, Arabs, Muslims, peace advocates,” she said. “So if you’re taking 10 percent of the judiciary right now and they’re spread all across the country, that’s a huge number, and I think that ultimately undermines public confidence in one of our branches of government. So, it’s really bad for everyone.”
Source: www.aljazeera.com