An Israeli good-governance organization has asked law enforcement officials to open a criminal investigation into Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef over remarks he made about Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara during his weekly Torah lecture Saturday night.
The Movement for Quality Government in Israel submitted formal requests Sunday to the attorney general, state prosecutor, police commissioner, and head of the police investigations division. The group argues that Rabbi Yosef's statements may constitute incitement to violence under Israeli criminal law.
The controversy stems from Rabbi Yosef's sharp criticism of Baharav-Miara following her decision to cancel a major memorial event honoring his late father, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the former Sephardic Chief Rabbi and spiritual leader of the Shas party who died in 2013. Rabbi Ovadia Yosef was one of the most influential rabbinic figures in modern Israeli history, and his funeral drew an estimated one million mourners.
During his lecture, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef called the attorney general "this wicked woman" and said she would "receive her blow" from G-d for interfering with the memorial. He questioned why memorial events for assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin were permitted near elections while his father's commemoration was blocked, suggesting political bias. "May the Holy One destroy her, may He give her the blow she deserves," the chief rabbi said, according to the widely circulated recording.
The Movement for Quality Government argued that these words were not spoken in a vacuum. They come amid what the organization describes as a harsh public atmosphere and repeated attacks against the attorney general and other senior public officials. In this case, the group noted, the speaker is a religious and political leader with broad public influence whose weekly lectures are recorded, broadcast, and reach large audiences.
The organization contended that the remarks raises genuine concern about a violation of Section 144d2(a) of Israel's Penal Law, which prohibits incitement to violence. To determine whether statements cross the criminal threshold, authorities must examine who said them, what exactly was said, in what context, before what audience, and the scope of their dissemination.
"Given Rabbi Yosef's high standing and the wide distribution of his remarks, which received thousands of views, this raises concern about potential acts of violence. Therefore, the Movement has demanded that enforcement authorities open a criminal investigation against Rabbi Yosef, or at minimum a preliminary inquiry, and pursue the matter to the full extent of the law if grounds are found," the organization stated.
Attorney Yael Bloch, who heads the litigation department at the Movement for Quality Government, said: "It is permissible to criticize a decision by the attorney general. It is forbidden to turn that criticism into harsh statements that raise concerns about incitement to violence against her. This is not the first time Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef has used his position and influence to attack the rule of law and its guardians. We don't determine whether a crime was committed, that's the job of enforcement authorities. Now they must examine the matter seriously and swiftly."
Knesset member Michael Malkieli of the Shas party responded sharply to the complaint, calling the organization's director by a derogatory nickname and defending the chief rabbi: "No one will be able to harm our rabbi, who stated his opinion, the opinion of Torah, clearly. The Shas movement will continue to grow stronger despite his grumbling and whims,"
