Israel’s Chief Rabbi Interrogated for Pocketing Donations
Israeli Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger is being interrogated on suspicion that he took hundreds of thousands of shekels meant for nongovernmental organizations.
Metzger’s home and office were raided on Thursday, according to Israeli reports, and Israeli Police confiscated documents and property. Metzger was brought to the National Fraud Unit for interrogation on accepting bribes, fraud and money laundering, Ynet reported.
Three associates of Metzger — two heads of NGOs and a Chief Rabbinate employee — also were arrested. An investigation of Metzger reportedly was opened months ago after information implicating him in illicit activity reached police.
Metzger’s 10-year term as chief rabbi is set to expire this year. Elections to replace him will take place next month.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30