Former Sefardi Chief Rabbi Indicted For Fraud, Breach of Trust

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According to the indictment, between 1999 and 2003 approximately 1,500 police officers, soldiers and cadets attended various religious colleges for several hours per week but were granted diplomas as if they had completed five years of studies. The certificates enabled them to get higher salaries from the state – as much as 4,000 shekels (about $1,050) monthly – and cost the state hundreds of millions of shekels in total.

diploma fraud

Former Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel Eliahu Bakshi-Doron was indicted for fraudulent receipt of goods or services under aggravated circumstances earlier today for his participation in the “‘rabbis’ file” affair, Ynet reported.

In the affair, hundreds of security forces officers were falsely ordained as rabbis in order to qualify for pay raises in their day jobs.

According to the indictment, between 1999 and 2003 approximately 1,500 police officers, soldiers and cadets attended various religious colleges for several hours per week but were granted diplomas as if they had completed five years of studies. The certificates enabled them to get higher salaries from the state – as much as 4,000 shekels (about $1,050) more monthly – and cost the state hundreds of millions of shekels in total.

Additionally, the “‘rabbis’ file” affair tried to get hundreds of millions of shekels from the state for future salary and pension payments, as well.

According to the indictment, Bakshi-Doron ordered his chief assistant Rabbi Yitzhak Ohana, who heads the testing and ordaining division of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, to give the program’s graduates a higher education religious studies diploma. The certificate qualifies for a pay raise that is equivalent to one granted the holder of an academic degree.

Bakshi-Doron told Ohana to ignore the requirements for the higher education religious studies diploma and “seal the deal,” the indictment claims, noting that when he told Ohana to issue the certificates, Bakshi-Doron knew that the security officers had not met the program’s criteria, and that Bakshi-Doron was also aware the diplomas he was telling Ohana to grant would give the officers significant state-funded salary increases.

The former chief rabbi allegedly authorized the illegal certificates to avoid a confrontation with the men who sponsored and managed the religious colleges attended by security personnel.

Bakshi-Doron was also indicted for “attempting to fraudulently receive goods or services under aggravated circumstances” and “breach of trust.”

This article originally appeared on failedmessiah.typepad