Rabbi Sheinberg
Rabbi SheinbergBasel Adiwat/Flash90

Ezra Sheinberg, the disgraced rabbi accused of serious sexual crimes, will be remanded in custody until the end of proceedings against him, a judge ruled Tuesday.

The ruling by Nazareth District Court came just over a week after prosecutors formally filed charges against Sheinberg, a former rosh yeshiva from the northern Israeli city of Tzfat (Safed).

The indictment against him is a long one, involving multiple serious crimes against several different women, including rape, sodomy, indecent assault, obstruction of justice and fraud. 

Sheinberg was initially exposed after several senior rabbis in Tzfat - including the city's Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu - united to have him ousted from his position as head of the Orot Ha-Ari Yeshiva and publicly shamed, after multiple reports he was using his position to sexually abuse vulnerable women.

Since his subsequent arrest, more than 10 women have filed complaints against him with police.

For his part, Sheinberg admits to having had sexual relations with several married women outside of marriage - an act forbidden by Jewish law (halakha), but denies any criminal wrongdoing.