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

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 harsh condemnation stemmed from Baharav-Miara's decision to cancel the annual memorial event (hillula) for Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the spiritual leader of the Shas party and Yosef's father, due to its proximity to election day.

The election is scheduled for October 27, while Rabbi Ovadia Yosef's death anniversary falls on October 14. The Knesset had previously passed a law in 2023 to commemorate Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef criticized the Attorney General's decision, stating that such events should not be silenced and that Baharav-Miara was interfering with a figure of great stature.

He further accused Baharav-Miara of hypocrisy, pointing out that memorial events for Yitzhak Rabin, who was assassinated shortly before an election, were not prohibited because they were associated with the left. Yosef emphasized the massive turnout at his father's funeral, estimated at nearly a million people from all segments of Israeli society, as justification for holding the memorial event.

"Who is she?" Yosef questioned, "The wicked one, this crazy Attorney General. She issues an opinion that it is forbidden to hold a rally in honor of Maran. Rabin was murdered close to elections, and they don't forbid it because it belongs to the left, but on Maran, a great leader of generations - she issues an opinion this week that it is forbidden to hold rallies before elections."