Chief Rabbi Slams Gadi Eisenkot, Cites Past Disrespect

The Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, launched a sharp verbal attack on Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of the "Yashat" party, warning against a potential government led by him and the left. Speaking at a conference in Ashdod on Thursday, Rabbi Yosef stated, "If the left and Eisenkot rise to power, woe is us." He recalled an incident during Eisenkot's tenure as IDF Chief of Staff, where he claimed Eisenkot implemented a policy allowing male and female soldiers to serve together in tanks. Rabbi Yosef asserted that he personally contacted Eisenkot about this matter when he was Chief Rabbi, explaining its gravity, but received no response. "Friends, a little respect. You are the Chief of Staff, the Chief Rabbi approaches you, and he doesn't even answer," Yosef lamented, questioning Eisenkot's reliability and accusing him of secularizing the army.

This strong criticism comes just two months after Rabbi Yosef made significantly different public statements regarding Eisenkot. In a weekly lesson, he expressed doubt about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's potential repentance but suggested Eisenkot might "repent." Shortly thereafter, a report surfaced detailing remarks made by Rabbi Yosef in a private conversation, where he reportedly considered supporting Eisenkot for Prime Minister, describing him as a "good person, a warm Jew, who loves Torah scholars." The Chief Rabbi's office at the time denied these reports, calling them a distortion of things that were not said.