Rabbi dies 5 days after admission to Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek and testing positive for COVID-19; Deri mourns loss of ‘giant of a scholar, a guide to many of the people of Israel’
Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron, the former Sephardic chief rabbi of Israel, died due to complications from the coronavirus at Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center on Sunday. Israeli leaders mourned his passing, hailing him a great spiritual guide.
Bakshi-Doron, 79, who served as chief rabbi from 1993 to 2003, succumbed to the virus five days after checking into the hospital with COVID-19 symptoms. He was tested shortly upon his arrival and found to be a carrier.
The hospital said his condition deteriorated during the day and efforts to revive him in the evening were unsuccessful.
With his death and that of another woman, Israel’s toll rose to 105 Sunday night.
Born in 1941 in Jerusalem, Bakshi was first chief rabbi in Bat Yam and then Haifa, before rising in 1993 to become the Rishon Lezion, a title given to the chief Sephardic rabbi.
During his time as chief rabbi, he devoted efforts to interfaith dialogue, and together with Ashkenazi chief rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, met with Pope John Paul II during his 2000 visit to Israel.
However, his reputation was tarnished when he was indicted in 2012 over his involvement in a scam, known as “the rabbis’ case,” which included the issuing of false rabbinic credentials to over 1,000 police and security services employees. The extra honorific entitled them to wage bonuses of NIS 2,000-4,000 ($530-$1060) a month.
As a result the government paid out hundreds of million of additional shekels to the civil servants.
In 2017, he was convicted of fraud and breach of trust and sentenced to probation, as well as a fine.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayahu mourned his passing, calling him “an important link in the Torah chain of scholars of Spain. His exceptional proficiency in Jewish sources merged with his noble dimensions. He was pleasantly endowed and warmly welcomed every person.”
Netanyahu hailed his role as a spiritual guide to communities in Israel and around the world. “His essence was intelligence, tolerance and love for the people and the state.”
Interior Minister Aryeh Deri of the Sephardic ultra-Orthodox Shas party hailed him as a “giant of a scholar, a guide to many of the people of Israel and his passing is great misfortune.”
Defense Minister Naftali Bennett eulogized the former chief rabbi in a statement, calling Bakshi-Doron “a man of kindness and giving, who strove to bring together the people of Israel.”
Bakshi-Doron’s wife Esther died in 2005. They had 10 children.
The number of coronavirus infections nationwide on Sunday evening stood at 11,145, with 402 new reported cases in the last 24 hours.
One hundred and eighty-three people were in serious condition, including 131 on ventilators, and 155 were in moderate condition, the Health Ministry said in its evening roundup.
The number of Israelis who have recovered from the COVID-19 disease jumped by 264 on Sunday to a total of 1,627, the ministry said.
As reported by The Times of Israel