Haifa’s chief rabbi Shlomo Shlush
Photo: Gil Nechushtan
Haifa chief rabbi suspected of accepting bribes
Shlomo Shlush investigated over suspicions he received bribes in exchange for approving conversion, adoption requests
Haifa’s chief Sephardic rabbi, Shlomo Shlush, was questioned on Thursday over allegations he received bribes in exchange for approving conversion and adoption requests.
The rabbi, who also serves as the head of the Rabbinical Court in the city, has denied
any wrongdoing.
The investigation followed the recent arrest of one of the court’s secretaries and a kashrut supervisor.
The two are suspected of offering to advance portfolios at the rabbinical court in exchange for bribes.
The kashrut supervisor, who had served in the past as Shlush’s driver, claimed during the court hearings that the rabbi ‘framed him’ when they fell out.
In the framework of the investigation, police searched the home of the rabbi’s daughter and detained her for questioning.
It is suspected that the bribes received by Shlush were funneled to the yeshiva he headed.
His attorney, Tami Olman, said “those involved in the affair are attempting to frame the rabbi in order to clear their own names.”
