In March 2012 YWN-ISRAEL reported that five chareidim was questioned by police on suspicion of involvement in a fraud operation connected to the Chief Rabbinate of Israel smicha (rabbinical ordination) exam. The suspects allegedly took the exam on behalf of the real candidates who felt they were incapable of passing the test.
Since that time, over 10 avreichim have been questioned and are suspected of taking part in the fraudulent operation, impersonating candidates and taking the Chief Rabbinate ordination qualification exam. Some of the suspects were questioned by fraud division police for a number of hours on Sunday. Police believe there are others involved as well.
Attorney Tzvi Rosenthal, who represents some of the suspects, told the media he simply cannot respond to questions pertaining to the ongoing investigation because doing so may be viewed as interfering with an ongoing police investigation.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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6 Responses
Before we were so modern, the people doing the testing knew the people being tested on a personal basis.
This is shocking. If you can’t do the exam, don’t be a Rabbi. If you are a knowledgeable avreich, don’t help people cheat.
where there is money and personal gain, there is corruption. It is in both the frum and secular worlds. Equality from the yetzer hara!
If this is true, it shows that the bona fides of people who receive smicha from the Rabbinate have as much chashash as the Rabbinate’s giyurim, kashrus, etc. All have the same problems: loopholes, impersonal bureaucracy, loose enforcement…
On the contrary Loyal Jew. The fact that the Rabbinate have a test, which is checked and audited and quite hard means that their Rabbis should have a certain standard.
I thought my yeshiva would start a fraud investigation after I got smicha, but apparently I got off.