High Court Rejects Petitions Against Awarding Israel Prize to Chief Rabbi Harav Yitzchak Yosef

By Hamodia Staff

The High Court of Justice on Wednesday rejected petitions that sought to compel Education Minister Yoav Kisch not to grant the Israel Prize in the field of Torah literature to Sephardi Chief Rabbi Harav Yitzchak Yosef, shlita, citing controversial remarks he had made regarding the enlistment of yeshivah students in the IDF.

The Israel Democracy Guard organization had submitted a petition to the High Court, arguing that Harav Yosef’s comments “denigrated and marginalized the sector of the population that carries the burden of the state’s security.” They contended that his warning of the possibility of leaving Israel constituted “a clear breach of the loyalty obligation to the state, to which he is bound by virtue of his position.”

In the majority opinion, High Court Justice Yitzchak Amit stated that the body of legal precedent concerning the Israel Prize indicates there is no legal basis to interfere with the education minister’s decision to endorse the recommendation of the Israel Prize judges panel.