‘Sexist’ pre-army yeshiva head goes on leave

A controversial Israeli rabbi who made disparaging remarks about female IDF soldiers in March is going on indefinite leave from the pre-army yeshiva he heads in the West Bank.

According to Channel 2, the move will likely be seen as a victory for Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman, who called for the resignation of Rabbi Yigal Levinstein and threatened to withdraw accreditation from his academy if he failed to step down.

The furor first erupted after Channel 2 broadcast a video in March in which the rabbi — from the prominent Bnei David academy in the settlement of Eli — saying that military service drives female soldiers “crazy,” makes them unattractive, and strips them of their Jewishness.

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