Pinto’s Wife Attempts Suicide: Report
The wife of Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto, the influential and controversial Israeli spiritual advisor, attempted suicide today, the Jerusalem Post reported. Pinto and his wife, Debra Rivka Pinto, were both under house arrest in Israel after being questioned in the alleged bribery attempt.
According to the paper, Debra Rivka Pinto took an overdose of pills while her husband was being interrogated by police. She was taken to the hospital “suffering light injuries,” the paper reported.
Pinto has ties to businessmen and political figures both in the U.S. and Israel. He has drawn increased scrutiny in recent months following the jailing of one of his former top aides amidst charges that the aide gathered illegal donations from Pinto’s followers for Staten Island Republican Congressman Michael Grimm’s 2010 election campaign.
The Forward reported in December 2011 that Pinto’s U.S. charity had spent heavily on luxury travel and jewels. Previously, the Forward reported that the townhouse where he lived in New York faced foreclosure and that his U.S. organization’s top financial officer could not say how many employees the group had. The Forward also reported that Pinto’s top aide was tied to porn sales and legal troubles.
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