The State of Israel sold its chametz (leavened products forbidden to Jews on Passover) on Thursday to Hussein Jabar, an Israeli Arab, during a ceremony at the Chief Rabbinate Headquarters in Jerusalem.
The ceremony was led by the Chief Rabbis of Israel - Rabbi David Yosef and Rabbi Kalman Bar - and attended by the Minister of Religious Affairs MK Michael Malchieli, Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich, Chief Rabbinate Director-General Yehuda Cohen, and other public figures.
During the ceremony, Minister Malchieli appointed the Chief Rabbis a representatives for the state to sell the chametz to the gentile as specified by Jewish law.
Later in the day, in a similar ceremony at the Chief Rabbinate Headquarters, Police Commissioner Danny Levi and the Chief Rabbi of the Police, Rabbi Rami Brachyahu, sold the chametz that was in the possession of the police.
During the meeting, Chief Rabbi Kalman Ber praised the work of the police and told the commissioner, "Your dedication is so great, every Jew can only celebrate because you protect them."
Levi told the rabbis: "When they asked if I want to be commissioner, I hesitated. To tell the truth, I didn't think I would have to sit with such honorable people and enjoy myself like I'm enjoying myself here. If I had known, I would have said yes immediately."
During the ceremony, the commissioner presented the rabbis with a book that consists of about 100 halachic questions asked by police officers, Border Police officers, and police rabbis during the war.
Levi thanked the rabbis and told them about the police's preparations for the holiday, which includes thousands of police and Border Police officers and volunteers who will be deployed across the country during Seder night and throughout the holiday to protect the public and allow it to celebrate joyfully and peacefully.