Israeli Rabbi Accused of Sexual Misconduct Stripped of Ordination
JERUSALEM — Israel’s Chief Rabbinate reportedly has revoked the ordination of a rabbi accused of sexual harassment and other sexual misconduct.
It is the first time that the Chief Rabbinate has taken such a step, according to Israel’s Channel 2, which first reported the move on Tuesday. The news channel did not name the rabbi, who ran a religious council in a northern Israeli city.
Several women complained that they were sexually harassed by the rabbi, though police have dropped investigations against him due to lack of evidence.
The rabbi also was accused of having an extramarital affair. Security camera footage of the rabbi kissing and hugging a woman who is not his wife was sent to the Chief Rabbinate earlier this year, according to the report.
In addition to being stripped of his ordination for what the rabbinate called “behavior unbefitting someone with the status of a rabbi in Israel,” the rabbi also has been fired from his job, according to Channel 2. The station reported that the case has been under review by the Chief Rabbinate’s disciplinary committee for a number of years.
The rabbi’s lawyer told Channel 2 that his client would appeal the decision and may sue the Chief Rabbinate for defamation.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30