Rabbi Metzger blames media for bringing him down

Metzger is suspected of being involved in the fraud and bribery of hundreds of thousands of shekels from charities.

CHIEF RABBI Yona Metzger 370 (photo credit: Bernadett Szabo/Reuters)
CHIEF RABBI Yona Metzger 370
(photo credit: Bernadett Szabo/Reuters)
Former Ashkenazi chief rabbi Yona Metzger accused what he termed the “bloodthirsty media” and other enemies of sparking a false criminal investigation against him to prevent him from running for a second term.
In an exclusive interview with Channel 10, on Saturday night, Metzger mocked the investigation that accuses of him of accepting bribes by receiving discounts for stays at fancy hotels certified by the Chief Rabbinate.
He said Shas mentor Rabbi Ovadia Yosef told him that when he was chief rabbi, he regularly stayed with his extended family at hotels for free.
“What they call bribery nowadays is ridiculous,” Metzger told interviewer Avishay Ben-Haim.
Metzger, who along with three other men, is suspected of being involved in the fraud and bribery of hundreds of thousands of shekels from charities, declined to address other aspects of the case against him.