Rabbi Who Called IDF Chief 'Accursed' Leads State-Funded Yeshiva Receiving Millions

Rabbi Aryeh Yazdi, who recently called IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir "the accursed chief of staff" during a protest in Bnei Brak, teaches at a yeshiva that receives substantial funding from the Israeli government. According to the Ministry of Justice website, the "Torah and Life Yeshiva in Bnei Brak" received approximately 653,000 shekels in state support last year, with funding rising to about 818,000 shekels in 2024 and around 870,000 shekels the year before. Over several years, the yeshiva has been granted millions of shekels, peaking in 2018 with over one million shekels.

Rabbi Yazdi, a prominent figure in the Sephardic Haredi community and close to the late Rabbi Shimon Badani, has been described as either the head or a senior leader of the yeshiva. Prior to his harsh remarks against Zamir, Yazdi accused the IDF of promoting severe Torah violations and urged young men not to enlist, condemning the military's treatment of a soldier imprisoned for carrying a note with the word "Messiah."

Defense Minister Israel Katz condemned Yazdi's statements, emphasizing the importance of respecting the IDF leadership and condemning incitement against those responsible for Israel's security. The IDF chose not to respond directly to the rabbi's attack.

The protest also featured former Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, who framed the gathering as a demonstration against "wicked rulers" and the imprisonment of yeshiva students, calling it a disgrace to the honor of Torah. Flyers distributed at the event declared that Sephardic yeshiva students are not abandoned and provided a hotline for reporting draft evasion arrests.