Nizri explained his reasoning in a letter to attorney Boaz Arad of the Ometz non-profit organization for good government. Earlier in the year Ometz demanded that the Attorney General's office begin a criminal investigation into Rabbi Metzger's alleged behavior alongside an inquiry that had already been started by Mazuz.
The inquiry had focused on three allegations, Nizri explained: a wedding between two people not allowed to marry under Jewish law that allegedly took place under Rabbi Metzger's supervision in 2002, allegations published by the Hebrew-language newspaper Ma'ariv, according to which Metzger sexually propositioned a 23-year-old French photographer, and charges that Metzger had taken trips abroad that were funded by non-governmental sources, creating a conflict of interest.
Nizri did not find factual evidence to support the charge that Rabbi Metzger performed an illegal wedding due to external pressure in 2002. In addition, he said, even if the wedding had been performed, it would have fallen outside the statute of limitations for such crimes, which is five years.
Regarding the case of the French photographer, Nizri pointed out that the photographer had never filed charges against Rabbi Metzger, making it impossible to treat the incident as a criminal case. In any case, he said, the photographer alleged a single proposition and not a series of inappropriate remarks, meaning the alleged incident would not be considered harassment.
Regarding the flights abroad, Nizri wrote, the inquiry had revealed that all of Metzger's flights were approved by the Rabbinate's legal advisor, attorney Shimon Ulman. Ulman said that some flights were funded by non-governmental sources, but explained that he had looked into the matter beforehand and had not found evidence of a conflict of interest. Metzger received approval for each flight before traveling, Nizri told Arad, as evidenced by official documents produced by Ulman.
Nizri emphasized that he had only investigated the criminal aspects of each allegation. “The other aspects of the allegations can be clarified in the relevant frameworks,” he said.
Following the accusations regarding Rabbi Metzger's trips abroad, Mazuz decided to establish a committee consisting of legal experts from both the Justice Ministry and the Rabbinate. The committee has been asked to create an official policy regarding external funding for trips taken by Rabbinate employees. It is expected to complete its work by the end of 2008.