A new report reveals that Rabbi Yosef Aryeh Yezdi, who publicly called for the IDF chief of staff's name to be erased, received between 650,000 and 870,000 shekels per year in state funding for his yeshiva program in recent years. The disclosure touches off fresh debate over public funding to institutions whose leaders incite against military leadership amid the conscription crisis.
A social-media post circulating Tuesday afternoon reports that Rabbi Yosef Aryeh Yezdi — the Bnei Brak-based educator who, at a rally last week, called for the IDF chief of staff's name and memory to be erased — received state funding of between 650,000 and 870,000 shekels annually for his yeshiva in recent years. The new figure, which includes a specific low and high estimate, is broader than the 653,818 shekels reported earlier this week.
The report follows a wave of background coverage by The Zioneer: an article on Monday described the rally and Defense Minister Israel Katz's condemnation; a bulletin Tuesday morning noted that total state funding to Rabbi Yezdi's yeshiva had topped 10 million shekels over the past decade; and former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett called the same day for an end to taxpayer support. The updated annual range reinforces the controversy over whether public money should flow to institutions whose heads incite against the IDF chain of command.
The rabbi's exact wording on Tuesday, as circulated in the new post, referred to "the cursed chief of staff" and accused the military of "teaching the most severe transgressions of the Torah in this defiled state." The funding figures have not been independently verified beyond the initial source.
3 developments
- DevelopingBennett: Taxpayer funds to yeshiva head who cursed IDF chief must stop
- DevelopingState urges High Court to strip tax benefits from yeshivas housing draft dodgers — analysis reveals 430M shekel annual savings
- StrongNew Haredi initiative offers incentives for draft dodgers, sparking controversy
- DevelopingRabbi Ohad Tirosh: 'I don't believe a word the chief of staff says'
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