Sad if this is a true story . Today an ex Shas minister left the prison , maybe to make room for another "religious" man ? Sad , very sad . And those "religious" people are the leaders of those who impose their lifestyle on the whole of the Israeli people !

Charles, i agree this is sad but your comments are like saying becasue Bernie Madoff is a thief and a liar so are all Ashkenaz Jews or that because Olmert, the states previous leader, went against the law so do all Non-religious jews. Lets try not to blame a whole group of people because of just a few (that also goes to both of your points, about the imposing lifestyle point) On a side note the picture on the homepage is of the current chief rabbi, rabbi amar. I hope they will take down that picture so as not to infer that all chief rabbis were involved or guilty.

seriously -= the rabbi is a wonderful human being and it pains me to know that he is facing a major problem. The ashkenazi i chief rabbi of a major town is retiring now after having admitted to be involved in this scandal. This private peace loving Jew asks a simple Question. How can someone get paid extra for studying without taking the ordination exam of the chief rabbinate? Thankfully it is not an easy exam and it will prevent people from receiving our tax money when they are not worthy of it.

Why is Rabbi Amar's photo displayed next to the headline? The rabbi is not mentioned even once in the article!

You owe Israeli Chief Rabbi Amar an apology. It will show the quality of your not only integrety and legitimacy as a serious newspaper, but also an institution that dignifies itself in its own eyes. Thanks for your actions, or lack of them.

As not to mix pagans with the righteous ones. Crooks in god's name is an honor. Stealing from hard working citizens is equally blessed. ALL religions are con games. Hudred of millions stolen means nothing to the rabbis underworld --- that is why most are neatly dressed, clean fingernails, delicate fingers unscathed by the rigor of honest work. When, O ! when is our corrupt govt ( honest people don't give away people's money to parasites ) going to stop digging in our Treasury, our reserve, in order to satisfy these gold diggers', ravenous, rapacious appetites for god's bounty (not of their making, or by the sweat of their brow). PS: did they have to forge god's name in order to get the loot??

I think they should have a special prison only for religious figures.

The linkage between degrees (not education) and salary needs to be stopped. The advancement of people in both the public and private sector needs to be on merit and not degrees. A person who is self taught, has no degrees, but may be far superior to a person who collects degrees without understanding the material.