Court accepts former chief rabbi’s plea deal
Yonah Metzger faces heavy fine and prison time
Standing before the Jerusalem District Court on Monday, Yonah Metzger became the first chief rabbi to be convicted of a crime. He is expected to be sentenced to threeand-a-half years in jail and fined NIS 5 million after signing a plea deal last week for a reduced bribery charge.
Sentencing will take place at a later date.
Last week, his lawyers tried to spin the positive aspects of the deal: that around half of the original bribery charges will be dropped and that after good behavior, he may serve only two years of his sentence.
Metzger was indicted in October 2015 for bribery in the amount of NIS 10m. His trial began last March, but was held up due to ongoing plea deal negotiations. Metzger had previously denied all charges.
The charges also included fraud, breach of public trust, fraudulent receipt of a benefit under aggravated circumstances, theft, money-laundering, tax violations and conspiracy to commit a felony, all while using his position as chief rabbi.
Of the NIS 10m., the indictment said that NIS 7m. had gone directly to Metzger. In the so-called “Conversion Affair,” Metzger allegedly received large bribes from foreigners who wished to convert or to clarify whether they were Jewish under standards acceptable to the Chief Rabbinate.
The indictment also said that Metzger received 30% to 40% of donations slated for charitable organizations in exchange for his support and activities on behalf of those organizations.