Rabbi Ovadia Yosef endorses his youngest son for
Sephardi Chief Rabbi
The
Shas spiritual leader chooses to back Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, after preferred
candidate, (his older) son Avraham Yosef, is interrogated by police for breach
of trust in carrying out duties as Holon Chief Rabbi.
By
Yair Ettinger
| Jul.12, 2013
The candidacy of Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, the
youngest son of Shas party spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, for Israel's
next Sephardi chief rabbi was publicly endorsed by his father Friday morning.
The elder Yosef's decision comes following an
investigation into another son and potential candidate, Rabbi Avraham Yosef.
“His election will bring honor to the institution of the rabbinate whose
essence is issuing religious rulings,” the Shas party said in a statement.
Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef currently serves as a
rosh yeshiva, or a dean of an institution of religious learning, and is
responsible for the writing of the halakhic work of his father. Yitzhak Yosef
was nominated by the elder Yosef for the position of Jerusalem chief rabbi
years ago.
The decision by the Shas party spiritual
leader came after his son Avraham Yosef, who was considered his preferred
candidate for Sephardi chief rabbi, was interrogated by police
on Tuesday on suspicion of breach of trust in carrying out his job as chief
rabbi of Holon. Avraham Yosef is suspected of a conflict of interest in his
provision of certificates of kashrut mehadrin (a certification of the most
stringent adherence to kosher dietary laws). The rabbi was interrogated for eight
hours by Lahav 443, the police unit tasked with fighting corruption and
organized crime, before being allowed to return home.
The police investigation against Avraham
Yosef has been underway for several months now, but the timing of its public
revelation was dramatic, coming right before Shas' expected candidate
endorsement for Sephardi chief rabbi and two weeks ahead of the rabbinate
elections. Rabbi Ovadia Yosef had already decided after some hesitation that he
would support Avraham and not his younger son Yitzhak for the position, but
Shas had delayed putting out an official statement. Avraham Yosef had also
received the support of his brother Moshe Yosef, a dominant figure in Shas, who
also owns the successful kashrut certification organization, Badatz Beit Yosef.
As Holon chief rabbi, Avraham Yosef is
responsible for the government kashrut certification system. However, a
previous Haaretz report found that Avraham Yosef had used his position to
promote Shas' political interests in the city by firing one of his workers for
volunteering off-hours for an opposing political party. Moreover, a report by
journalists Israel Rosner and Raviv Drucker that aired on Channel 10's
investigative news program Hamakor several months ago found that Avraham Yosef
was pressuring food businesses in Holon to seek kashrut certification from
Badatz Beit Yosef, the private organization that he founded with his brothers.
On Thursday, Shas circles pointed the finger at the rabbi's opponents accusing
them of a “targeted assassination” a week before the deadline for filing as a
candidate for chief rabbi.
Rabbi Avraham Yosef, who serves as member of
the Chief Rabbinate Council and as chairman of the National Kashrut Committee,
also has opponents within the rabbinate. “In the rabbinate they knew that he
favored the interests of Badatz Beit Yosef over those of government kashrut
certification and they knew that this would be the situation if he were elected
Israel's chief rabbi,” a source close to the rabbinate told Haaretz.