"Fear of propaganda": The Attorney General wants to postpone the memorial ceremonies for Rabbi Ovadia, Shas is furious

Ahead of the anniversary of the passing of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, which falls this year on October 14, close to the election date, the Attorney General demands to postpone the state memorial events for fear of using state resources for election propaganda purposes.

Last year, the Knesset passed a special law to commemorate the legacy of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, which determines that state institutions will hold a memorial day in his memory. The law instructs that the activities will take place on the day of his passing or during the week following it. However, this year, as mentioned, the day is close to the election date, and the Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara claims that there is a heavy fear that the events will turn into a political arena. This is, among other things, in light of the fact that Shas uses his picture and image as part of its election campaign. Because of this, the Attorney General instructed government officials to postpone the events until after the elections.

In Shas, on the other hand, they insist that this is a legal obligation that cannot be postponed. The claim is also expressed around one of the central events determined by the law. The law states that "The Ministry of Religious Services will hold on the day of the passing of the teacher Rabbi Ovadia Yosef or on a date close to it an academic conference in his memory, and topics from his world and in the spirit of his vision will be discussed in it".

According to sources familiar with the details, the Attorney General clarified to the Director General of the Ministry of Religious Services that since the law itself allows holding the conference "on a date close" to the day of passing, it can be postponed by a week or two and thus avoid the proximity to the elections, but in practice, the conference was not postponed but brought forward by a week - and even spread over three days. This raises criticism from those familiar with the affair, who wonder how it can be claimed that postponing the event is against the law, while bringing it forward by a week allegedly meets its requirements.

In Shas, where as mentioned they use the Rabbi's picture as part of the party's election campaign, they strongly reject the Attorney General's position and claim that this is an invalid interference in an event determined by law. In a response on behalf of the party it was stated:

"The insolent and outrageous demand of the Attorney General to cancel the prayer and memorial rally for the teacher our Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, of blessed memory, under the claim that it is 'election propaganda', is a severe insult to the memory of the teacher and to a huge public in the State of Israel that walks in the light of his legacy. This is also a blatant trampling of the law, which was approved unanimously in the Knesset plenum and mandates the holding of the rally. We will not allow the Attorney General who serves the left to harm the memory of the teacher and we will act with all legal tools to cancel the decision".

At this stage, no agreements have been reached between the parties, and the dispute is expected to reach the legal level as well. In Shas, they even compare the issue to the state memorial day for the memory of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, and wonder why the memorial events for Rabbi Ovadia should be postponed precisely because of their proximity to the elections. Shas Chairman Aryeh Deri attacked that:

"This is what the elections are about. Either the regime of the Attorney General trying to erase every spark of Torah and Judaism, or the legacy of the teacher, of blessed memory, and Jewish tradition. There is no third way".