Police arrested four rabbonim who competed for the position of rav of a city and they may face charges of fraud, breach of trust and forgery and impersonation.

A police investigation unit arrested four rabbis from various cities on suspicion of fraudulently obtaining a “fitness certificate” that gives them the ability to compete for a senior public position.

The four were suspected of fraudulently obtaining the “fitness certificate” without taking the certification exams required by the Chief Rabbinate, including falsifying the registration of the test scores, sending another person to the exam as an impostor, and even applying directly to the examiner to “facilitate” their grades.

Detectives from the Lahav 433 unit arrived at the homes of the four on Wednesday morning 15 Elul, armed with arrest and search warrants. They searched for documents that were connected to the case, tying them to the exams and efforts to falsify the results as well as their certificate of fitness for the position.

Police point out that during the entire investigation they enjoyed total cooperation from the Chief Rabbinate of Israel.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)