Rabbi Avraham Yosef was charged with two counts of fraud and breach of trust for using his official position as chief rabbi of Holon to force businesses to pay for the private kosher supervision service owned by his father and brother, the Badatz Beit Yosef.
Rabbi Ovadia Yosef’s Son Indicted On Public Corruption And Fraud Charges
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
Criminal charges were filed today against Chief Rabbi of Holon Avraham Yosef, the son of the late supreme Sefardi haredi rabbinic leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, Arutz Sheva reported.
Yosef was charged with two counts of fraud and breach of trust for using his official position as chief rabbi of Holon to force businesses to pay for the private kosher supervision service owned by his father and brother, the Badatz Beit Yosef.
Yosef kept other private haredi kosher food supervisions at bay while he promoted his family’s Sefardi haredi Badatz Beit Yosef and allegedly coerced food businesses into paying for its supervision.
Under Israel’s kosher food law, all private kosher food supervision companies are supposed to be illegal. But in practice, that law is rarely enforced and, when it is, it is enforced primarily against non-Orthodox and Modern Orthodox kosher supervisions.
Yosef was a leading candidate for Sefardi Chief Rabbi of Israel two years ago but had to withdraw as news of the criminal investigation against him became public.
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