Rabbi Mazuz Slams State Attorney General Over Banning Rabbi Ovadia Yosef Memorial

Rabbi Tzemach Mazuz, head of the Kiseh Rachamim yeshiva, sharply criticized the State Attorney General, Gali Baharav-Miara, for her decision to cancel the central memorial event for Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, a prominent Sephardic rabbi and spiritual leader.

Speaking at his weekly Torah class on Saturday night, Rabbi Mazuz referred to the Attorney General as "that poor woman" whose mind is "only evil all day long," quoting Genesis. He accused her of constantly seeking ways to harm Torah scholars and enact new decrees against them.

Rabbi Mazuz specifically addressed the Attorney General's reported reasoning for the cancellation: that Rabbi Ovadia Yosef is identified with the Shas party and that the memorial event could influence voters, thus compromising "pure elections." He sarcastically questioned the purity of these elections, contrasting the decision with the state memorial for Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who is directly associated with the Labor party, and whose memorial is held close to election days.

The Attorney General's directive, reportedly issued on Thursday, contradicts existing law. The cancellation of the memorial for Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, a revered figure in the Sephardic community and founder of the Shas party, has sparked significant controversy, with critics arguing it constitutes political interference.