Shas released a video of Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef, who urged holding 'a thousand hilulas' nationwide after the Attorney General decided not to allocate public funding for the annual memorial for Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. The Attorney General's office clarified that it did not ban the event, only public funding.
Later Wednesday, Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef, the spiritual leader of Shas, called for "a thousand hilulas" to be held nationwide in response to the Attorney General's decision to withhold public funding for the annual memorial for Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. In a video released by Shas, Rabbi Yosef urged communities across Israel to organize their own grassroots celebrations, framing the move as a popular reaffirmation of the legacy of his father, the late spiritual authority. The Attorney General's office clarified that it did not ban the event itself, only the allocation of state funds.
Earlier Wednesday at 08:57 Jerusalem, Shas chairman Aryeh Deri condemned the High Court's decision to cancel the state-organized memorial, calling the judges "insensitive and disconnected from the emotions of masses of Jews." As The Zioneer reported at the time, Deri said the ruling strengthened his resolve to reform the justice system. The two developments—Deri's attack on the court and Rabbi Yosef's grassroots appeal—underscore the party's layered response to what it sees as judicial overreach into religious and communal traditions.
The Attorney General's funding decision and the High Court ruling are separate but intertwined. The AG's office clarified that its decision was not a ban but a fiscal policy determination. Rabbi Yosef's call for "a thousand hilulas" appears designed to circumvent the funding restriction by mobilizing private and community resources, signaling Shas's determination to keep the memorial tradition alive regardless of the legal and financial constraints.
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