Former Chief Rabbi To Testify For The State In Forged Smicha Case

Former Rishon L’Tzion Rabbi Bakshi Doron Shlita will be giving testimony on Monday in the state’s case alleged rabbinical ordination was sold for profit, costing the state hundreds of millions of shekels.

Former Chief Rabbi to Testify for the State in Forged Smicha Case

Yechiel Spira • Yeshiva World News

Former Rishon L’Tzion Rabbi Bakshi Doron Shlita will be giving testimony on Monday in the state’s case alleged rabbinical ordination was sold for profit, costing the state hundreds of millions of shekels.

When Rabbi Doron was informed that he must appear in court and testify MK (Shas) Rav Chaim Amsellem went into action, beginning to pressure the relevant officials and agencies, insisting it is not [right] to compel a former chief rabbi to appear in court. Minister of Religious Services (Shas) Yitzchak Cohen also began working to assist the Rav, leading to a decision that he will give written testimony from his office, avoiding the embarrassment of a court appearance. MK (Kadima) David Rotem, who chairs the Knesset Law Committee, was called upon to assist, which he did.

One of the rabbonim targeted in the state investigation is Rabbi Meir Rosenthal, who is Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi Yonah Metzger’s bureau chief. Other suspects in the case include Yitzchak Ochana, a relative of the former Rishon L’Tzion, who served as the bureau chief of former Chief Rabbi and current Tel Aviv Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau Shlita, and Israel Police Deputy Chief Rabbi Aaron Gudstiner as well as a number of others who allegedly ran rabbinical ordination classes in Beit Shean, Tzfat and Haifa.
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According to the state prosecutor, the suspects sold rabbinical degrees to hundreds of recipients, persons employed in the IDF, Israel Police, and Israel Prison Authority, and their rabbinical academic degree earned them a NIS 2,000-4,000 monthly salary increase. The state maintains the recipients of the degrees were to have studied in a yeshiva gvoha for five years, when they learned 1 to 2 ½ years at best. The fraud perpetrated on the state agencies cost the treasury NIS hundreds of millions the prosecution maintains.

It appears that pressure was exerted on the former Rishon L’Tzion, leading to his testimony, in which he is expected to state that he laid out the criteria for the five-year ordination program. The rabbi nevertheless recommended that two of the schools operate a fast track for members of security agencies, but the Chief Rabbinate, which Rabbi Doron headed, opposed the move.

The daily Maariv reports the indictments include hundreds of counts, including fraud, submitting fraudulent documentation, conspiracy to defraud the state and much more.

Comments

[who knows]

Rabbinic system is corrupt, but this is not a problem. The problem is that it is lacking any mechanisms that would prevent or at least temper the corruption.

Due to the systematic deficiencies it is not just prone to corruption (any system is), but it is prone to runaway terminal corruption, just like the mullah system in Iran.

[friend]

Re:
Posted by: who knows | May 24, 2010 at 02:23 PM

You remind me of people who talk about the united world conspiracy using the terms like "the Jews", "the elders of zion", "the masons" etc.
Clearly there is no such a thing as 1 unified entity a "Rabbinic system " there are many different rabbis who are independent or part of various rabbinic organizations each has its own standards as to what it can tolerate in its circle of influence and what measures will be taken to correct problems. Some standards are enforced some not. Some weed out corruption faster some slower.
I think you have adopted an overgeneralized apocalyptic view of the Jewish world just like the mullahs of Iran. They at least hope that their Mahdi the Shia Muslim Moshiach will re-appear and fix the world and this allows them to go on walking proudly towards the cliff.
What about you? With all the "corruption" that surrounds you do you hold any hope for the better future? :-)

[who knows]

friend, rabbinic system as prescribed by our current gadolim exists and it has a problem of accountability. Any critisism is prohibited under a penalty of eternal hell (sin of lashon hara), any critisism of the rabbis is prohibited under the same punishment of hell.... How is it possible to check inevitable corruption in such a system?

[Jake]

the entire country is corrupt I guess.

All employees of the security serrvices when given time to get degreees are fast tracked.
They are given two years to get a BA instead of three, Most masters are done in a year.

It is part of the benfit package of scurity service personnel.

This policy includes IDF, Shin Bet ,Police, Mossad.

[Adam Neira]

A meritocracy not a charmocracy is the preferred option for the Jewish people.

[sandra]

they are all crooks . who can trust them ?
they don't even do their jobs .

' shlita ' ,that tells you all , just by mentionning that word . shlita is synonym of distrust and crookery .

be on your guard when you hear the word 'shlita' . it's a word that speaks for itself .

[Maskil]

It has long been known that due to the job opportunities available to those with Rabbinate smicha and Rabbinate dayanut that connections and money are needed to succeed in this venue. Otherwise, sorry, no open dates available to be tested. If one perseveres it can take more than ten years to achieve dayanut, but without the right connections he will still be red-flagged to be inelligible for chief rabbi of a city.

Now some of the dirty laundry is being aired in public. Does anyone honestly think that the Israeli prosecution has the interest or attention span needed to crack down on the state/monetary side of this corruption and start to straighten the process just a little? These trials often receive lots of publicity before the indictments - if there are actually indictments. In this case, the mainstream media hasn't even decided to care. Most likely the courts will not find an available date for the trial and there will be no change.

[Adam Neira]

How should a true messianic government be funded in the Holy Land ? How many vested interests right now are delaying the implementation such a divinely mandated paradigm ? Will Moshiach be allowed to choose his advisors and assistants ? How will the command structure operate ? All the Rabbis in the State of Israel should be thinking about these issues. The idea of smicha is based on the idea that a certain tradition of righteous leadership must be upheld for correct management of the Jewish people to take place. There is a lot of esoteric rubbish that clouds this issue of who has the right to offer wise counsel.

[A E ANDERSON]

What would anybody expect from a guy named "Bakshish Doron?"