Rabbi charged with raping seven followers ‘after saying he had powers that could purify them’

A Jerusalem rabbi has been charged with raping seven of his followers after telling them it would ‘purify’ them and cleanse them of their sins, police have said.

Rabbi Moshe Yazdi, 59, told the women he had special powers and could help them by ‘descending to their impurity’, convincing them he was acting within Jewish law, it has been claimed.

He was indicted yesterday for the alleged attacks spanning a decade in Givat Ze’ev, following his arrest on April 27. 

Rabbi Moshe Yazdi (pictured) has been charged with raping seven of his followers after telling them he would be able to ‘purify’ them

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The religious leader also convinced the women to give him thousands of shekels based on his fraudulent claims, the indictment says.

He has been indicted of rape through fraud, sodomy through fraud, indecent acts through fraud, causing rape and indecent acts through fraud, fraudulently receiving items, and money laundering, the Times of Israel reported. 

Police said he even attacked some of the women on the day of their weddings.

Yazdi told the women that sins had left ‘sparks of impurity’ inside them that could only be purified through sex acts with him, prosecutors said.

He then told each of the alleged victims they had special souls and must not tell anyone of his acts. 

The money they gave him was deposited in a number of bank accounts under different names to hide the transactions, it is claimed.

Yazdi served as a rabbi in the Amudei Hashalom (Pillars of Peace) community in Bukharim since the 1990s and also led their nonprofit organisation.

In his daily lessons, he taught the concept of ‘cancelling the mind’, meaning giving up intellectual or personal thought and instead subscribing only to the values and principles from the Torah.

He was indicted yesterday for the alleged attacks spanning a decade in Givat Ze’ev (pictured: file image), following his arrest on April 27

The rabbi said he was one of only 36 righteous people who ensured the continued existence of the world according to some Jewish decisions.

These claims helped convince his followers to obey each of his vile demands, police said.

Yazdi said he could communicate with dead rabbis and the Divine Presence when talking to his followers, the indictment claims.

The first complaints against him were made in 2004 when a rabbinic court banned him from teaching, meeting or advising women.

In 2007, an alleged victim reported him to police and in 2016, he was convicted under a plea bargain after he tried to flee the country despite a bailiff order.

It is the latest in a series of allegations involving high-profile figures in Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish community. 

Dudi Shwamenfeld, a radio host on a station that serves the community, was accused of sexual assault by six omen.

Days earlier, Chaim Walder, a popular Haredi author, killed himself after he was accused of multiple assaults and rape including against children.