False certification of studies given
Photo: Haim Zach
Ten leaders of the religious community were indicted Sunday in the ongoing case against hundreds of fraudulently ordained rabbis of the IDF and other security forces. The defendants include the bureau chiefs of both Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger and former Chief Rabbi Meir Lau.
The 10 have been indicted on charges of fraud, breach of trust, and blackmail for fraudulently ordaining various officers and military men as rabbis.
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The Jerusalem District Prosecutor's Office is claiming that some of the defendants established various "colleges" throughout Israel between the years 1999-2003, in which officers of security forces studied for a few hours a week, for up to two years.
Then, by collaborating with the director of ordinations at the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, the defendants obtained documents for the officers certifying five years of studies.
The fraudulent paperwork was then submitted to the different organizations employing the officers – including the police, the IDF, and the Prison Service – which then granted the officers a pay raise. Around 1,500 officers received a pay raise of up to NIS 4,000 (approximately $1,200) a month.
The prosecution further claims that most of the certificates were transferred to the students at the colleges by a number of mediators, among them Meir Rosenthal, Metzger's bureau chief, who is suspected of swiping millions in the process. The certificates were issued by the Chief Rabbinate's director of ordinations, Yitzhak Ohana.
In August, the IDF announced that it would demand the fictitious rabbis refund the money they received on top of their regular paycheck. In addition, the State is expected to indict hundreds of the falsely ordained officers on criminal charges for receiving illegal pay benefits.