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


Chief Rabbi Yosef calls on public not to use judicial courts

His comments generated strong criticism from liberal groups, including the Hiddush religious pluralism organization, which called for the position of chief rabbi to be abolished.

Rabbi Yosef Yitzhak addresses a panel of world religious leaders in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Chief Rabbi blasts world religious leaders for not condemning terrorism

“It is forbidden for us to be silent, silence is tantamount to identifying with terror.”

Rabbi Yosef Yitzhak addresses a panel of world religious leaders in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Political deal for Chief Rabbinate Council upheld with one exception

Rabbi Eliezer Simcha Weiss, chief municipal rabbi of Kfar Haroeh was elected to council despite the lack of political support.

Chief Rabbinate elections 370

Meeting cancelled over women in the army

“The politics of the defense minister and the orders of the IDF chief of staff do not overrule the law”.

Women in the IDF

Bill seeks to extend rabbinical court oversight abroad

The new law would enable the rabbinical courts to do so even if neither spouse has citizenship or is a resident of the country.

David Azoulay

Chief Sephardi Rabbi opposes calls for death penalty

The Sephardi Chief Rabbi said instituting the death penalty offered "no gain" for the Israeli public, only offering potential danger for world Jewry.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef

Pray-for-rain call issued just in time for this week’s downpour

"Bring umbrellas, because together we will tear open the gates of Heaven."

Uri Ariel

Row over same-sex love lecture 'alarming,' says top UK rabbi

The Sephardi community both in the UK and abroad is upset over one rabbi's lecture over same-sex love.

Britain's chief rabbi Ephraim Mirvis

Sephardic Chief Rabbi: Women can do laundry in the IDF, not serve in combat

Yosef: "There are female pilots, all sorts of stuff. Is that the way of the Torah?! That’s not the way of the Torah."

Female soldiers from the Caracal Battalion practice evacuating an injured soldier

Tradition Today: A fence too tall

Judaism today needs leaders who make it accessible to all rather than erecting more and more barriers that keep people away.

Chief Rabbis Yitzhak Yosef and David Lau