Harav Avraham Yosef is the Chief Rabbi

Chief Rabbi

Chief Rabbi is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities...

 of Holon, Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

 and is a Sephardi representative on the Chief Rabbinate Council (Moetzet Harabbanut Harashit).

Background

Harav Avraham Yosef is a son of Shas

Shas

Shas is an ultra-orthodox religious political party in Israel, primarily representing Sephardic and Mizrahi Haredi Judaism.Shas was founded in 1984 by dissident members of the Ashkenazi dominated Agudat Israel, to represent the interests of religiously observant Sephardic and Mizrahi ...

' spiritual leader, and former Israeli Chief Rabbi, Ovadia Yosef

Ovadia Yosef

Ovadia Yosef is the former Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel, a recognised Talmudic scholar and foremost halakhic authority.He currently serves as the spiritual leader of the Shas political party in the Israeli parliament...

, and a brother of Rabbi Yaakov Yosef

Yaakov Yosef

Ya'akov Yosef is an Israeli rabbi and former politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Shas between 1984 and 1988.-Biography:Yosef was born in Egypt towards the end of the Mandate era, the second son of Ovadia Yosef, a prominent rabbi. He was educated in the Porat Yosef and Kol Torah...

, a Jerusalem politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 who was a member of the Eleventh Knesset.

Chief Rabbi of Holon

Dr. Nissim Leon, of Bar-Ilan University, researches the Shas movement and says that Avraham Yosef is a new rising star worthy of note for the political party. Leon states that, "Rabbi Avraham Yosef is building up his reputation using a similar method to his father's, combining halakhic rulings with lectures and classes for large audiences. Among other things, he is a very popular halakhic arbiter on the ultra-Orthodox radio station, Radio Kol Hai."

2007 Rabbinate shmita decision

During 2007, Sephardic and Ashkenazi rabbis were at odds over whether to allow the sale of fruit and vegetables during shmita. Later in the year, the Chief Rabbinate set up a special body, headed by Rabbi Ze'ev Weitman, and Rabbi Avraham Yosef to implement heter mechira.