Israeli Government Cancels October Event Honoring Rabbi Ovadia Yosef Amid Election Dispute

Israeli Government Cancels October Event Honoring Rabbi Ovadia Yosef Amid Election Dispute

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Israel’s Ministry for Religious Services has formally notified the Jerusalem Municipality that a major state-sponsored event honoring the late Rabbi Ovadia Yosef has been canceled, citing legal concerns surrounding the upcoming elections. Join our WhatsApp group Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email The ministry sent the notice Monday to Jerusalem municipal officials, […]

Following Attorney General’s intervention: Memorial event for Rabbi Ovadia Yosef canceled

The major event planned in memory of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef has been canceled following the Attorney General’s directive regarding the election period.

Attorney General’s Directive Forces Cancellation of Major Rav Ovadia Yosef Memorial Gathering

A major memorial gathering marking the yahrtzeit of Rav Ovadia Yosef zt”l, which had been scheduled to take place next month at Binyanei Ha’Umah in Yerushalayim, has officially been canceled following a directive from Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara barring the event from being held before Israel’s upcoming elections. The Ministry of Religious Services formally announced the cancellation after weeks of controversy surrounding the annual gathering, which commemorates the life and legacy of the longtime Sephardic chief rabbi and spiritual leader of Shas. In a letter sent by Religious Services Ministry Director-General Yehuda Avidan to Yerushalayim Municipality Director-General Ariella Rajuan and Yaakov Cohen, who heads the ministry’s senior division for religious projects and events, Avidan said that the attorney general’s directive, combined with the resulting scheduling difficulties and a notice from the event producer, made it impossible to proceed. The gathering had been scheduled to take place at Binyanei Ha’Umah from October 6 through October 8. Avidan said that should officials decide to organize an alternative event, the Ministry of Religious Services would hold discussions with the Yerushalayim Municipality about the possibility. He concluded his letter by thanking the mayor and the municipality’s director-general “for the willingness to hold an event in memory of Maran zt”l.” The cancellation follows a controversy that erupted approximately two weeks ago, when Baharav-Miara instructed officials to postpone the gathering until after the elections. During each of the past two years, the Ministry of Religious Services and the Yerushalayim Municipality organized memorial events for Rav Ovadia at a reported cost of NIS 4 million. This year, ministry officials sought to settle the event’s arrangements well in advance because Rav Ovadia’s yahrtzeit, 3 Cheshvan — October 14 — falls close to the date of Israel’s general election. Another issue involved the ministry’s desire to hold the gathering with separate seating for men and women. As part of an effort to resolve the concerns, the ministry reportedly offered to move the event forward by one week and hold it without the participation of Shas representatives. The attorney general’s office rejected that proposal as well, directing that the event instead be held after the election — approximately a week and a half after Rav Ovadia’s yahrtzeit. Shas reacted furiously when the directive was initially issued, calling it “the brazen and outrageous demand of the dismissed attorney general.” Party officials said the decision to postpone what they described as a prayer and memorial gathering on the grounds that it constituted “election propaganda” amounted to “a serious affront to the memory of Maran and to the enormous public in the State of Israel that follows the light of his legacy.” Shas further argued that the directive represented “a blatant trampling of the law, which was unanimously approved by the Knesset plenum and requires the gathering to be held.” The party vowed to challenge the decision through the courts, declaring: “We will not allow an attorney general who serves the left to harm the memory of Maran, and we will use every legal tool to overturn the decision.” With the Religious Services Ministry’s latest notification, however, the planned October gathering at Binyanei Ha’Umah has now been formally canceled, leaving any alternative commemoration dependent on new arrangements between the ministry and the Yerushalayim Municipality.