Top Likud Officials Attend Engagement of Rabbi Yeshayahu Pinto’s Son Amid Controversy

On Thursday, Defense Minister Israel Katz left a Security Cabinet meeting to attend the wedding of the son of Kiryat Ata Mayor Yaakov Peretz. At the same event, Katz also attended the engagement party of the son of Rabbi Yeshayahu Pinto, a controversial figure convicted of bribery and imprisoned. Katz was not the only senior Likud member present; Education Minister Yoav Kisch, Minister for Regional Cooperation Dudi Amsalem, Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar, Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman, and Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana also attended.

The gathering featured private conversations with Rabbi Pinto, head of the "Shuva LeYisrael" institutions, who served a one-year prison sentence for bribing Deputy Commissioner Ephraim Bracha. Photos on Pinto’s Facebook page showed former Mossad chief Dedi Barnea warmly greeting Pinto at the engagement. Last year, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Pinto during a visit to Washington, though Netanyahu was unaware Katz had left the cabinet meeting early and asked, "Where is the Defense Minister?"

Rabbi Pinto’s legal troubles began in August 2012 with investigations into bribery and money laundering. He pled guilty to offering $200,000 to a police officer to obtain confidential information. Pinto expressed remorse during a parole hearing, admitting his actions harmed the religious community’s reputation. Despite his conviction, in 2019 Pinto was appointed head of the rabbinical courts for the Jewish community in Morocco in a ceremony in Casablanca attended by local dignitaries and representatives of the Moroccan kingdom. Pinto declared the appointment marked "a new beginning."