Ex-chief rabbi suspected of doling out rabbinic ordinations
By JEREMY SHARON
The State Attorney's office announced on Thursday that it was considering indicting former Sephardi Chief Rabbi Bakshi Doron, subject to a hearing, for his part in the affair known as the "rabbis case," in which 1,500 members of the IDF and police force received false certificates of rabbinic ordination entitling them to an extra NIS 2,000 - 4,000 a month in wages.
In November 2007, ten indictments were handed down over the affair. The allegations against Rabbi Bakshi Doron relate to his activities during his tenure as Sephardi Chief Rabbi from 1998-2003. At the time, a Higher Religious Education diploma which was accompanied by rabbinic ordination, enabled security personnel to receive additional pay of from NIS 2,000 - NIS 4,000 a month. Numerous educational facilities were set up to train security personnel as rabbis, and students at these schools were ordained by the Chief Rabbinate, making them eligible for the salary benefits.
The seminaries where the studies took place received registration fees for the classes, and the security personnel studied for five to 10 hours a week for a period of one to two and a half years at most, but received certification that they had taken a five-year yeshiva program, enabling them to receive the pay bonus.
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