Yitzhak Yosef

Netanyahu an ‘atheist,’ former chief rabbi says, accusing IDF of targeting Sephardim

After a week of of demonstrations outside a military prison housing haredi detainees, former Sephardi chief rabbi slammed Netanyahu and Shas leader Arye Deri of stalling the haredi draft bill.

 Shas spiritual leader and former Sephardic chief rabbi, Yitzhak Yosef, seen during a weekly lecture at the Yazdim synagogue in Jerusalem, June 07, 2025; illustrative.
 Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef during a shaharit prayer in the northern Israeli city of Tzfat, September 17, 2024.

Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef's attacks on Edelstein ignore his sacrifices for Judaism - opinion

 Shas spiritual leader and former Sephardic chief rabbi, Yitzhak Yosef, seen during a weekly lecture at the Yazdim synagogue in Jerusalem, June 07, 2025; illustrative.

IDF soldiers killed due to yeshivas 'neglecting Torah study', former chief rabbi claims

 Head of Shas party Aryeh Deri and Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef visit at the scene of suspected arson and vandalism at a Jerusalem synagogue which is often frequented by Rabbi Yosef, June 8, 2025.

Israel Police arrest suspect in arson attack on Jerusalem synagogue


Netanyahu is living in a delusional fantasy - opinion

The tragedy is that ultimately, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has lied to himself. Netanyahu, the conservative political realist, has entered into a phase of delusional fantasy.

 PRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu meets with US President Joe Biden in Tel Aviv in October.

Protesters present Sephardi chief rabbi with 'Dividing Israel' award

Anti-government protests will continue in Jerusalem on Tuesday for a third day since demonstrations in the capital began on Sunday.

 Protesters march toward Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef's office. April 2, 2024

Editor's Notes: Talk to haredim, not their leaders, about enlistment

Unlike traditional approaches that often focus on negotiations with haredi leaders, speaking directly to community members requires a nuanced understanding of their values, concerns, and aspirations.

 Ultra-Orthodox men line up at an IDF draft office to process their exemptions from mandatory military service.

Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi hints criticism towards Sephardic counterpart on 'exodus' of haredi Jews

Rabbi David Lau said, "We are blessed with an extraordinary generation of soldiers, unwavering in their dedication, who rise to protect the people of Israel, the Torah of Israel, and Israel."

 Israel's Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau attends a ceremony of the Israeli police for the Jewish new year at the National Headquarters of the Israel Police in Jerusalem on September 5, 2021.

Amid the haredi draft debate, Shas is dragging Israel into its past traumas - opinion

Expecting Netanyahu and Deri to act right overlooks their leadership failures, transforming the conscription crisis from a potential Shas triumph into disaster for the State of Israel.

 The leadership of Shas. History has summoned them to their beautiful hour, but instead they turn it into our bad hour.

Center Field: Rabbis not supporting the war against Hamas are acting irresponsibly

October 7 confirmed that calling for ceasefires prematurely, as many of these “religious leaders” also did in 2009, 2012, 2014, and 2021, is peace-posturing and not peace-seeking. 

 EPHARDI CHIEF Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef was busy insulting more than half of Israel, declaring that when a person eats non-kosher food ‘his brain becomes stupid,’ the writer notes

Israeli government officials slam chief rabbi's threat of haredi exodus

Yair Lapid lambasted the chief rabbi’s remarks on Sunday, stating, “Rabbi Yosef's words are an insult and disgrace to the IDF soldiers who risk their lives to defend the country."

 Israel's Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef speaks during the funeral procession of Rabbi Elimelech Wasserman, a senior judge in the Rabbinical Court, in Jerusalem. Rabbi Wasserman was killed in a terror attack earlier today. November 30, 2023.

Mass exodus threatened by chief rabbi if haredim are forced into military service

"The yeshivas and kollels hold up the world. The state exists on Torah study, and without the Torah, the army would not have succeeded."

SEPHARDI CHIEF RABBI Yitzhak Yosef speaks at a Shas Party election rally at the Yazdim Synagogue in Jerusalem last year.

Rabbinate releases instructions for keeping Shabbat during wartime

Some laws can be altered or followed differently due to the principle of "pikuach nefesh," asving a person's life.

 ASHKENAZI CHIEF Rabbi David Lau (left) and Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef: The silence of our two chief rabbis is thunderously indicative of the abject state of these once meaningful and relevant positions, the writer argues.

Israel's chief rabbi: Secular Jews have lower intelligence, are jealous of haredim

"They do not find satisfaction in life; everything is driven by the desires of this world," Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef said.

 Israel's Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef speaks during a ceremony of the Israeli police for the Jewish new year at the National Headquarters of the Israel Police in Jerusalem on September 22, 2022.