Yona Metzger
While Metzger is from a national religious family and educational background, he had been closely identified with Haredi Judaism, and often sought the advice of Degel HaTorah's late spiritual leader Yosef Shalom Eliashiv.[18] During the "bus conflict" about mixed seating between men and women, Metzger stated that this is not a "Haredi country", and urged the ultra-Orthodox to not push their opinions on the others and be more accepting.[3] In February 2005, the Israeli police began a formal criminal investigation of Metzger regarding allegations of fraud and bribery related to benefits he received from a Jerusalem hotel.[24] Metzger was questioned twice, and denied any wrongdoing, but suspended himself from the Rabbinical High Court in June 2005, while waiting to see whether or not the Israeli Attorney General, Menachem Mazuz, decided to indict him.On 3 April 2006, Attorney General Mazuz announced that he was closing the Metzger investigation, and would not seek an indictment, citing a lack of sufficient evidence.The rabbis praised his character and integrity, heavily criticized Mazuz's behavior, and promised to help Metzger fight the public cries for his resignation.[30] In late May 2006, the new Justice Minister, Chaim Ramon, told reporters that he intended to follow up on Mazuz's recommendation and attempt to force Metzger's resignation.[31][32] In March 2007, Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch recommended that Mazuz re-write the report and remove the allegations she called "gossip and rumors".[35] However, in late March, the Knesset Interior Affairs and Environment Committee ratified an amendment to the Chief Rabbinate Law that effectively prohibited Metzger from trading positions with Shlomo Amar, as is standard practice halfway through their ten-year terms.[38] Some suggested that one way of preserving the integrity and relevance of the office might be to convince the religious Ashkenazi communities of Israel to decline to hold elections to replace Metzger, should he resign.Metzger gave an interview with the British Jewish News paper in January 2008 in which he advocated transferring the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to the Sinai Peninsula, adding that though Israel welcomed peaceful Muslims, the world's Muslims needed to recognize that Jerusalem belongs to the Jewish people, saying, "You have another place, Mecca and Medina, you don't need a third place."[43][44] In February 2015, Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein indicted Metzger for accepting bribes, attempting to silence witnesses, and interfering with the investigation about his dealings.
IsraeliJudaismOrthodoxYisrael Meir LauDavid LauAshkenaziChief Rabbi of IsraelHebrewIsrael Defense Forceschaplain7th Armored BrigadeordinationYeshivat Kerem BeYavnehesderyeshivaTel Avivnational religiousHaredi JudaismDegel HaTorahYosef Shalom Eliashivsecularkashrutbishul akumDiasporaJonathan PollardRon AradHezbollahUnited NationsJerusalemDalai LamaLech KaczynskiAbdullah of Saudi ArabiaArmenianarchbishopYerevanArmenian genocidegenocidehalachicSephardicAttorney GeneralMenachem MazuzOvadia YosefMordechai EliyahuAvraham ShapiraChaim RamonAharon BarakDorit BeinischDaniel FriedmannNorthern IrelandJonathan SacksJewish NewsGaza StripSinai PeninsulaLahav 433Yehuda Weinsteinfirst Gulf WarWayback MachineThe HinduHaaretzIsrael HayomMaarivJewish titlesChief Rabbinate of IsraelOld YishuvMoshe ben Yonatan GalanteMoshe ibn HabibIsrael Yaakov AlgaziRaphael Meyuchas ben ShmuelYom Tov AlgazyMoshe Yosef Mordechai MeyuchasYom Tov DanonHakham BashiChaim Abraham GaginYitzhak KovoChaim David HazanAvraham AshkenaziRaphael Meir PanigelYaakov Shaul ElyasharYaakov MeirEliyahu Moshe PanigelNew YishuvAbraham Isaac KookYitzhak HaLevi HerzogSephardiBen-Zion Meir Hai UzielChief Rabbis of IsraelIsser Yehuda UntermanShlomo GorenKalman BerYitzhak NissimEliyahu Bakshi-DoronShlomo AmarYitzhak YosefDavid YosefShe'ar Yashuv CohenAryeh SternYaakov ShapiraYitzchak Dovid GrossmanYaakov RojaShimon ElituvAvraham YosefRatzon ArusiShmuel EliyahuYitzhak Peretz