Misinformation Campaign Fuels Controversy Over Rabbi Ovadia Yosef Memorial Event

The Israeli Attorney General's office instructed the postponement of a state-sponsored memorial event for Rabbi Ovadia Yosef until after the upcoming elections, citing concerns that the event could be exploited for election propaganda by the Shas party. The decision, however, sparked a significant public outcry and a wave of misinformation, particularly amplified by Channel 14 and Shas party officials.

Shas challenged the directive, appealing to the Central Elections Committee and filing a petition with the High Court of Justice, alleging discrimination compared to memorial events for former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Despite the Attorney General's clarification that the directive only concerned the state-funded conference and not the religious memorial service itself, false reports emerged claiming the entire commemoration was canceled.

These reports, notably initiated by journalist Amit Segal, falsely stated that the Attorney General's office had ordered the cancellation of a legally mandated memorial for Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. This narrative was widely disseminated by Shas, its supporters, and media outlets, accusing the Attorney General of disrespecting the rabbi, the Sephardic community, and Jewish tradition. The article highlights how this misinformation campaign employed tactics such as reframing the issue from a state-funded conference to a religious ceremony, creating a straw man argument, and appealing to emotion rather than facts.

The Attorney General's office maintained that the postponement was necessary due to the potential for public funds to be used for election campaigning, a concern amplified by Shas's past use of Rabbi Yosef's image in its election materials and statements made by party leaders at previous events. The article notes that even after Channel 14 published a clarification acknowledging that memorial events were not prohibited, the channel continued to frame the issue as a cancellation, including broadcasting a poll based on the false premise.

The controversy underscores a pattern of systematic misinformation, as detailed in a 2024 report by The Seventh Eye, which has been observed in reporting by Channel 14. The directive to postpone the conference, intended to prevent election propaganda, was itself transformed into a political campaign based on fabricated claims.