Yitzhak Yosef

MQG demands gov't open criminal probe into Shas spiritual leader after attack on attorney-general

According to videos shared on social media, Yosef said that Miara was "crazy," and threatened that "God will curse her."

AUGUST 30, 2026|ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF

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.

Amid reports that the Shas Party could be willing to sit with him in government, Yashar Party head Gadi Eisenkot did not rule out that option entirely. Here, Eisenkot attends the Sagi Laws for Equality Confrence at the Peres Center in Jaffa earlier this week.

Why Gadi Eisenkot is rejecting the haredi political embrace that once helped Netanyahu win

POLITICAL AFFAIRS: Yitzhak Yosef’s embrace – and Eisenkot's effort to distance himself from it – reflects Israel's shifting political landscape.

JULY 17, 2026|ByHERB KEINON

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.

Shas spiritual leader appears to open door to Eisenkot government, says Netanyahu ‘won’t repent’

The rare remarks suggested that Shas could potentially be open to joining a government led by Eisenkot, raising questions over the longstanding haredi alliance with Netanyahu's bloc.

JULY 12, 2026|ByKESHET NEEV

Shas spiritual leader orders support for coalition legislation in exchange for haredi-backed bills

Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef warned there was “no room for delay” on the Torah Study Law amid coalition efforts to advance contentious legislation.

JULY 7, 2026|ByKESHET NEEV

Half a million people take part in mass online prayer against coronavirus

Chief Rabbi of Safed Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu: coronavirus pandemic shows that however important world economy is, it cannot trample other values

MARCH 26, 2020ByJEREMY SHARON

Hasidic Jewish men gather for a morning prayer outside of a synagogue, closed due to coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in South Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York City, New York

Chief Rabbi: Leave phones on during Shabbat

Yosef also ruled that all synagogues at hospitals should be closed since it is hard for people to keep a distance of two meters (6.6 feet) while in them.

MARCH 19, 2020ByMAARIV ONLINE, JERUSALEM POST STAFF

Despite coronavirus, chief rabbi permits prayer services of 15 people

The chief rabbi wrote in his ruling that the public should strictly adhere to the instructions of the health authorities

MARCH 15, 2020ByJEREMY SHARON

Know Comment: What’s Yitzhak Yosef’s strategy?

One must wonder what Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef was thinking when last week he launched into a tirade against non-Jewish Russian immigrants to Israel.

JANUARY 17, 2020ByDAVID M. WEINBERG

Tzohar rabbis: Happy, halachic, and in love with the Jewish people

The media are wrong: Politics isn’t always the answer – leadership is.

JANUARY 14, 2020ByGIL TROY

The national-religious rabbinical association Tzohar 370

‘Change Law of Return,’ says chief rabbi following FSU ‘non-Jews’ comments

The chief rabbi went on to defend himself, insisting that he had already said but would repeat that the majority of immigrants from the former Soviet Union were Jewish

JANUARY 7, 2020ByJEREMY SHARON

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

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.

DECEMBER 1, 2019ByJEREMY SHARON