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Yitzhak Yosef
Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau (L) and Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef convene an emergency meeting against a new proposal to overhaul the conversion to Judaism system in the country on June 3, 2018 (Courtesy of the Chief Rabbinate spokesperson)
June 5, 2018, 3:02 pm
Chief Rabbinate appeals to European rabbis to oppose conversion reform
After slamming Nissim Committee recommendations to strip it of conversion powers, state rabbinical authority looks overseas for help
By TOI staff
Israel's chief rabbis convene an emergency meeting with religious Zionist rabbis against a proposal to overhaul the conversion to Judaism system in the country on June 3, 2018 (Courtesy of the Chief Rabbinate)
June 3, 2018, 3:10 pm
Chief rabbis urge Netanyahu to ‘bury’ bill reforming conversion system
Interior minister vows to block proposed amendments giving official recognition to Reform, Conservative conversions abroad
By Marissa Newman and Stuart Winer
The Ma'asiyahu Prison complex in Ramle, near Tel Aviv. (Courtesy/Israel Prisons Service)
May 31, 2018, 6:17 pm
Haredi inmates to get prison-issued hats and jackets after minister steps in
Prisons had enforced ban on ultra-Orthodox civilian garb during prayers for fear of jailbreaks; Sephardic chief rabbi, Shas minister had protested move
By Marissa Newman
Shas MK David Azoulay during a Knesset committee meeting. February 13, 2013. (Miriam Alster/FLASH90)
May 29, 2018, 1:31 pm
Shas minister, chief rabbi protest hat and jacket ban for Haredi prisoners
Prison enforces order for fear of jailbreaks by inmates praying in civilian garb; among those affected is jailed former chief rabbi Metzger
By Marissa Newman
CNN panelists discuss a meeting Ivanka Trump and Jared Kishner had with Isreal's Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, May 16, 2018. (Screen capture: YouTube)
May 17, 2018, 3:28 am
CNN panel discusses rabbi who compared black children to monkeys
Debate about Israel's Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef and his meeting with Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner devolves into comments about one panelist's masculinity
By Ron Kampeas
Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef attends the cornerstone laying ceremony for Nezer HaTalmud Yeshiva in Beitar Illit on September 19, 2016. (Yaakov Naumi/Flash90)
April 10, 2018, 3:43 pm
A deafening silence in the wake of hate speech
Where were was the outrage and demonstrations after the Chief Rabbi made his 'monkeys' comment?
By Harold Goldmeier
Israel's Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef attends the traditional selling of the the hametz (food containing leavening) of the state of Israel to a non-Jew before the upcoming Passover holiday, on March 29, 2018. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)
April 8, 2018, 7:22 pm
Israeli chief rabbi: Jews have ‘moral obligation’ to intervene in Syria
Following suspected chemical attack on Douma, Yitzhak Yosef calls the fighting 'genocide in its cruelest form, using weapons of mass destruction'
By TOI staff
Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef (R) speaks during a ceremony before the Passover holiday, April 9, 2017. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
March 29, 2018, 2:31 pm
Israel mulls criminal action against top rabbi who called black people ‘monkeys’
Justice Ministry said considering various steps against Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, examining whether remark constitutes incitement to racism
By Michael Bachner
From Ruben's 17th century painting, Moses and His Ethiopian Wife Zipporah. (Wikimedia Commons)
March 22, 2018, 10:37 am
Was Moses’ wife a monkey?
To Chief Rabbi Yosef: You make Israel look bad -- own your racially insensitive remarks and apologize!
By Patrick D. John
Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef attends the cornerstone laying ceremony for Nezer HaTalmud Yeshiva in Beitar Illit on September 19, 2016. (Yaakov Naumi/Flash90)
March 21, 2018, 1:06 am
ADL slams chief rabbi for likening black people to monkeys
Watchdog group says Yitzhak Yosef's 'racially charged comment' in weekly sermon is 'utterly unacceptable'
By TOI staff
Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef attends a ceremony in Jerusalem, October 22, 2017. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
March 20, 2018, 1:45 pm
Chief rabbi calls black people ‘monkeys’
Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef uses pejorative term 'kushi' for African Americans in weekly sermon
By Sue Surkes
Safed Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu in Jerusalem, May 24, 2017. (Shlomi Cohen/Flash90)
February 1, 2018, 2:16 am
Rabbi who opposes female service claims ‘war’ being waged with IDF
Shmuel Eliyahu says army agenda on women's integration is 'unhinged'; 100 rabbis write to defense minister in support of Eliyahu, Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef
By TOI staff
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot, left, and head of the IDF military rabbinate, Eyal Karim, at a ceremony in Jerusalem, November 1, 2017. (Marc Israel Sellem/Flash90)
January 24, 2018, 8:10 pm
Liberman lets IDF chaplain meet with chief rabbi on women’s enlistment row
Defense minister says army wants to express displeasure at comments by prominent rabbis against integration of female soldiers, demands they take back statements
By Stuart Winer and TOI staff
Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef attends the cornerstone laying ceremony for Nezer HaTalmud Yeshiva in Beitar Illit on September 19, 2016. (Yaakov Naumi/Flash90)
January 22, 2018, 1:43 pm
Amid women’s enlistment row, army nixes meet with chief rabbi
Chief of staff reportedly orders IDF chief rabbi to cancel scheduled sit-down with Israel's Sephardi chief rabbi over criticism of mixed-gender units
By TOI staff
Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef speaks at Jerusalem's Teddy Stadium on April 13, 2017. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
January 20, 2018, 11:34 am
Liberman bans chief rabbi from IDF events over anti-women comments
Defense minister says there's 'no place' for statements by three top rabbis against female integration in military
By TOI staff
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