Holon Chief Rabbi Avraham Yosef has suspended himself from all responsibilities relating to kashrut, following a petition to the High Court of Justice requesting such a step in light of an indictment against him.

Yosef, the son of the late Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef and brother of the current Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, was indicted in the Tel Aviv District Court in December last year on two counts of breach of trust.

According to the indictment, Yosef exploited his position as municipal chief rabbi to force food businesses to use meat approved by the kashrut licensing authority belonging to his family, Badatz Beit Yosef, and forbade them from using products and produce approved by competing authorities.