Rebbetzin Yehudit Yosef, daughter-in-law of Rav Ovadia Yosef zt”l, has spoken out against the controversial decision to cancel memorial events honoring him, saying the move disregards the legacy of a towering religious figure whose influence reached across Israeli society.
The memorial events were canceled following a directive from legal officials, who argued that Rav Ovadia’s close identification with the Shas party could cause the gatherings, taking place near the election period, to be regarded as political campaigning.
“I am in tremendous pain today, and there are moments when I feel that this is it — I can no longer remain silent,” Rebbetzin Yosef began.
“When I heard that they want to cancel the memorial for my father-in-law, Maran Rav Ovadia Yosef, of righteous and holy memory, it hurt me, and it continues to hurt me deeply,” she said. “And not because of the event or the ceremony, but because of its significance and what it says.”
Rebbetzin Yosef emphasized that Rav Ovadia belonged far beyond the confines of any political party or particular community.
“Maran belonged to everyone: Sephardim, Ashkenazim, Chareidim, secular Jews, traditional Jews, Chassidim, yeshiva students and soldiers. Everyone entered his home, and he felt the pain of every one of them,” she said.
She also recalled witnessing Rav Ovadia’s concern for Israelis during times of war and tragedy.
“I saw him during wartime. I saw nights when he did not close his eyes. I saw him cry when he heard about soldiers who had fallen and about another family whose world had been destroyed. I saw him pray from the depths of his heart for the wounded,” she said.
Officials working under the attorney general ordered the cancellation of the memorial ceremony for Rav Ovadia, maintaining that his identification with Shas could cause the gathering to be considered political propaganda during the election period.
Rebbetzin Yosef said she found the decision particularly painful given Rav Ovadia’s decades of devotion to the Jewish people.
“That is why it is so difficult for me to understand: How can you take such a figure, who dedicated an entire lifetime to this nation, and decide that he is not worthy of stopping, remembering and honoring him?”
She concluded by drawing a distinction between the government’s ability to cancel a particular event and its inability to erase Rav Ovadia’s enduring influence.
“Perhaps you can cancel a ceremony, but you cannot cancel a legacy, and you cannot decide for millions of people whom they will remember and whom they will honor.”
The cancellation has sparked an uproar in the Chareidi community, with prominent rabbinic figures sharply criticizing the decision.
Rav Yitzchok Yosef, the former Sephardic chief rabbi and son of Rav Ovadia, delivered an especially fierce denunciation of the attorney general.
“The religion-hating attorney general who decided to cancel the memorial gatherings for Maran Rabbeinu Ovadia Yosef, of blessed memory. This wicked woman is messing with Maran? The Almighty will destroy her; she will receive her blow,” Rav Yosef said.
