State Ceremony for Rabbi Ovadia Yosef Postponed Due to Election Campaign

The Attorney General's Office has insisted that the state memorial ceremony for Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, scheduled to coincide with the anniversary of his passing on October 14, be postponed until after the upcoming elections. This decision comes despite the legal counsel acknowledging the public importance of commemorating the late spiritual leader of the Shas party.

The legal reasoning cited for the postponement is that holding the event during an election period could be construed as election propaganda. This stance remains firm even though the Ministry for Religious Services proposed moving the ceremony forward to October 6, eight days before the actual anniversary and closer to the election date.

In a letter to the Director-General of the Ministry for Religious Services, the Deputy Attorney General for Legal Advice clarified that while there is no general prohibition on memorial events, and non-governmental funding is permissible, the state-funded ceremony in its current format cannot proceed as planned. The decision is based on a directive from the Prime Minister's Office concerning government events during election periods, which advises postponing events with experiential content or academic conferences until after elections.

The Attorney General's Office acknowledged the symbolic significance of holding the event on the anniversary of Rabbi Yosef's death but determined that election regulations take precedence. The Ministry for Religious Services had already attempted to mitigate concerns by suggesting an earlier date, but this was insufficient to alter the legal counsel's conclusion.