Former Israeli chief rabbi sentenced to jail for graft

The New York Times 21:41 - 23 February 2017

Former Israeli Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi Yona Metzger, pictured in 2012, stepped down in July 2013 after 10 years in office

Former Israeli chief rabbi Yona Metzger, convicted of taking more than $1.9 million in bribes, fraud and obstructing justice, was sentenced Thursday to serve four-and-a-half years in jail, court officials said.

A Jerusalem court rejected a plea bargain under which the ex-chief rabbi of the Ashkenazi branch of Judaism would have been imprisoned for three-and-a-half years and fined $1.3 million.

Metzger had initially been charged with an array of felonies including taking bribes, fraud, money laundering and witness tampering.

He stepped down in July 2013 after 10 years in office.

Israel has two chief rabbis, one Ashkenazi and the other Sephardi, whose responsibilities include running rabbinical courts and regulating the food supervision industry.