Supreme Court reduces jail sentence of bribe-taking ex-chief rabbi

The Supreme Court reduces the jail sentence of Israel’s former chief rabbi Yona Metzger from 10 years down to three and a half.

Metzger earlier this year pleaded guilty to fraud, theft, conspiracy, breach of trust, money laundering, tax offenses and accepting bribes involving some NIS 10 million ($2.6 million) under a plea bargain reached with state prosecutors that recommended a three and a half year jail term.

But in a rare move, a Jerusalem District court judge rejected the plea deal, handing down a harsher sentence of four and a half years in prison for the slew of bribery and corruption charges.

Metzger appealed his sequencing to the Supreme Court, and justices agree to reduce the jail time back to the original three and a half years. The justices say their decision “does not detract from the harsh condemnation of the ugly acts for which he was convicted.”