Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef Curses Attorney General Over Election-Related Event Ban

Former Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef launched a scathing verbal attack on Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara during his weekly sermon on Saturday, calling her "wicked" and "crazy" and praying for divine retribution against her. The outburst was prompted by Baharav-Miara's decision to cancel the annual memorial event, or "hillula," for Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the spiritual leader of the Shas party and Yosef's father.

The cancellation was due to the event's proximity to the upcoming election day. The memorial, which commemorates the anniversary of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef's passing, falls on October 14, close to the October 27 election date. A law was passed last year by the Knesset to commemorate Rabbi Ovadia Yosef.

Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, a prominent spiritual leader for Shas, accused Baharav-Miara of overstepping her authority and targeting the memory of his father. He questioned her legitimacy, stating, "Who is she anyway?!" and expressed a wish that "God will destroy her, give her her punishment." The congregation responded with "Amen."

Yosef further criticized the Attorney General's decision by contrasting it with the handling of events related to the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, which occurred near an election. He argued that similar restrictions were not imposed on events related to Rabin, whom he associated with the left, while strict measures were applied to his father's memorial.

Yosef emphasized the immense public turnout at his father's funeral, estimated at nearly a million people from all sectors of Israeli society, as justification for holding the memorial event. He asserted that the public recognized his father's greatness and that the anniversary should be observed appropriately, lamenting that a legal opinion was suddenly issued to prevent it.