TikToker dressed as chief rabbi stirs confusion at Independence event

During the annual Independence Day torch-lighting ceremony Tuesday night, a bearded man dressed in the distinctive robes and turban of the Sephardic chief rabbi of Israel took his seat next to other audience members on Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl.

One of the torch-lighters, army reservist and rabbinical judge Avraham Zarbiv, gave a speech dedicating the honor to the country’s rabbinical court system.

As he spoke, cameras filming the live event panned to the man in the audience, with directors apparently believing it to be Sephardic Chief Rabbi David Yosef.

But the esteemed rabbi was not in fact in the crowd. According to his office, he skipped the ceremony due to feeling under the weather.

The man the cameras landed on was Eyal Tzionov, a TikTok and YouTube micro-celebrity who has sparked confusion in recent weeks after making several public appearances in the chief rabbi’s iconic garments.

Some crowd members were seen approaching Tzionov during the event and entreating him for a blessing, believing he was the 68-year-old rabbi, who also sports a long beard, turban and black robe with gold embroidery.

Among those fooled was the husband of Science and Technology Minister Gila Gamliel.

הפרגוד: בעלה של השרה גילה גמליאל בטוח שהוא מקבל את ברכת הראשון לציון וניגש למתחזה באירוע בהר הרצל. pic.twitter.com/lN5L6d6NkY

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The eccentric social media star was invited by someone on the ceremony’s production team, according to the Ynet news outlet.

The Shin Bet stressed to the outlet that Tzionov was vetted like all others when coming in, adding that he had been “identified as an internet star, not the chief rabbi, upon his entrance.”

“He underwent a full check like every other event guest,” the agency added, noting that “at no stage did he enter the guarded area where the prime minister was.”

Tzionov, whose account on TikTok has 2,194 followers, frequently refers to himself as the “Messiah-king” or “Messiah, son of David” in his videos, while appearing at Jewish holy sites across the country.

His account is named “Minister of Peace, Our Master Eyal Tzionov.” His bio simply reads: “Peace and love.”

Tzionov recorded himself ascending and praying at the Temple Mount on April 13 this year, also in the chief rabbi’s garb, Ynet said. The get-up attracted several uneasy glances from fellow worshipers.

The ultra-Orthodox are strongly opposed to ascending the flashpoint holy site, which many see as contrary to Jewish religious law.

The report said security forces called Yosef’s office after seeing Tzionov at the site, asking why the rabbi would take such a drastic step without coordinating with them beforehand. But Yosef’s office said he was nowhere in the area.

Tzionov also came to a right-wing demonstration outside the High Court of Justice in Jerusalem in April, at which protesters railed against a hearing on petitions demanding the dismissal of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.

He was seen bestowing a blessing upon right-wing provocateur Mordechai David, and speaking to the police spokesman on the scene.

One still photograph uploaded to Tzionov’s TikTok account shows him being interviewed by a news channel with the caption: “Messiah gives an interview to the media.”

According to ultra-Orthodox news outlet Kikar HaShabbat, the Chief Rabbinate is struggling to find a way to deal with Rabbi Yosef’s apparent impersonator, but is skeptical that legal action against him would bear any fruit.

A source close to Tzionov defended him to the Haredi outlet.

“This is not an impersonator, and the honorable rabbi does not present himself as the Sephardic chief rabbi or a chief rabbi of Israel,” he asserted, calling Tzionov a “distinguished scholar” with deep Jewish knowledge.

“The honorable rabbi feels holiness and grandeur by wearing the holy robe, and this is his full right. We apologize if it bothers other rabbis,” the source added.