Yonatan Yosef, a grandson of the late Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, spoke with Arutz Sheva - Israel National News following a Supreme Court ruling rejecting a petition by the Shas party against the Attorney General's decision to prevent a state memorial conference commemorating his grandfather.
“We know that in the State of Israel every election takes place in the month of Cheshvan. So what? Then we will take many years forward and make a law that the Knesset passed, and it will be said that Rabbi Ovadia is only a political figure," Yosef said.
“After all, Rabbi Ovadia was a recipient of the Israel Prize. He contributed so much to the State of Israel, and portraying him as a political person is an injustice," he continued. “I would understand if she wanted to supervise the content or try to reach a compromise. But to come and take the power from the legislative branch and transfer it to the Attorney General is problematic."
“The Rabbi was a beloved grandfather, and we were blessed to be with him," he said. “We grieve his passing, we lean on his memory, and we grieve that they are taking this away from us. Let his memory become a matter of controversy. Why? After all, Rabbi Ovadia was not controversial. Anyone who visited the Rabbi’s home saw that he welcomed everyone without distinctions."
Yosef, who said he has completed more than 1,000 days of reserve duty during the war, also criticized what he described as inadequate media coverage of military and emergency service by members of the haredi community.
“They do not report on the good things in the haredi public," he said. “From the beginning of the war until today, about 40 grandchildren, great-grandsons and great-granddaughters of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef serve in security services. But they will not highlight this. We have the legacy of Rabbi Ovadia, who said that whoever learns does not enlist. I think that most people, in times when there is no incitement, think that way."
“The haredi public is in MDA, United Hatzalah, in fire and rescue services, and it can also be in the army with the proper adjustments. Now you cannot talk because everything is run by shouting."
“I remind the people of Israel that anyone who ran under the banner of drafting the haredi did not draft anyone," he said. “I have friends who returned to the army from exemption, the exemption that Yair Lapid gave them."
“Put the incitement and extremism from both sides aside," Yosef concluded. “If someone had tried to draft me by force, he probably would not have succeeded. There is a right way to do it so that the haredi soldier will preserve the legacy of his father’s home."