Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef Attacks Minister Ben-Gvir Over Temple Mount Visits

Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef has launched a sharp new attack on Otzma Yehudit Chairman and Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, urging the public not to grant Ben-Gvir political power. The criticism comes amid Ben-Gvir's efforts to broaden his support among young religious and traditional voters ahead of the elections.

At the heart of the dispute are Ben-Gvir's visits to the Temple Mount, which contradict rulings by the Chief Rabbis and other prominent Torah scholars. Rabbi Yosef accused Ben-Gvir of attracting young people with mere slogans, stating, "There are people who talk and attract the youth with all sorts of slogans, but in practice what do they do? Nothing. Just talk, talk, and the youth get excited." Yosef recounted warning against ascending the Temple Mount multiple times, noting that Ben-Gvir visited the site shortly after one of his pronouncements on the matter, "against the opinion of all the great rabbis of Israel from all circles."

Rabbi Yosef explicitly called for withholding support from Ben-Gvir, questioning how one could empower "a person like this, who openly violates, with pride and contempt, despises all the great rabbis of Israel and ascends the Temple Mount like this? God forbid, do not lend a hand to such a one." He also voiced support for the Shas party, describing it as the "mezuzah of the state."

Ben-Gvir responded to the criticism, which he views as part of a coordinated campaign by Haredi parties, by sending a sharp letter to the heads of Shas and United Torah Judaism. He accused them of orchestrating a campaign against him to divert attention from their own failures during the last term. "Yesterday you chose to launch a staged campaign against me, supposedly out of 'concern' for the public you were supposed to care for," Ben-Gvir wrote. "In practice, a cynical political maneuver, whose purpose is to divert the discourse from the anger over your inaction in acting for your voters throughout the last term."

Ben-Gvir also claimed that senior figures within rabbinical courts and Hasidic dynasties had privately criticized Haredi politicians to him. He stated he had refrained from revealing these conversations, despite their potential use in the political struggle. He also mentioned that Haredi party officials had asked him not to approach their voters directly, a request he agreed to in order not to harm the strength of the Haredi parties and the right-wing bloc, thus viewing the current attack as a breach of understanding.

The conflict also involves accusations by Rabbi Yosef that Ben-Gvir is responsible for the arrest of yeshiva students and Torah scholars, claiming these arrests are intended to harm Shas electorally. "Ben-Gvir is responsible for the arrests, not the Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara," Rabbi Yosef stated. "He is doing this intentionally to agitate the yeshiva students so they won't vote for Shas."

United Torah Judaism MK Yaakov Asher also appealed to Ben-Gvir to halt the arrests of Torah scholars, while simultaneously criticizing Attorney General Baharav-Miara for allegedly using the police for political purposes. Asher claimed Baharav-Miara has "opened an election campaign and is using the police under her responsibility as a political arm, to increase arrests and create chaos, protests, and a rift in the nation at such a sensitive time."