Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto, who has been abroad for several months, published a letter to his followers this evening (Thursday), in which he claims that he has never given a penny to receive favors. Rabbi Pinto's letter is being published against the backdrop of the final program of 'Uvda' on Channel 2, which deals with the rabbi and the suspicions against him.
At the beginning of the letter, Rabbi Pinto says that in recent months he has kept the commandment "And be pure from the Lord and from Israel" and therefore has decreed that he will speak only to his close friends and followers. "But what the heart desires, time suppresses, and this is the time to speak with a veil, and we pray to God that veils and more will remain covered and that we will never have to say what is in our hearts until the Creator of the world removes the veils and the truth comes to light.".
""We tried with all our might during the days of Maryam Mamut not to involve the holy community in any matter and not to turn the current situation into a holy war, but rather we dealt with the grief and sorrow alone with my family members and many, many still do not understand and do not know anything about all that happened to us.".
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Rabbi Pinto claims that he never gave a penny for favors. "Everything I did with love and joy for every Jew who came to our house, I rejoiced in everyone's joy, I cried with everyone's tears, I felt everyone's pain, and even when I helped someone from the ranks of the law - I did it with a whole heart and for the sake of Heaven, without expecting anything in return, but out of pain and sorrow that took care to fill my heart with the sorrow of their hearts.".
Meanwhile, Uvda revealed that the Attorney General is considering filing an indictment against retired Lahav Unit 433 commander Menashe Arbiv, on charges of breach of trust. According to senior sources close to the investigation, Arbiv - who retired from the police following the 'Pinto affair' - admitted to Yehuda Weinstein that Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto offered him a bribe of thousands of dollars in cash on two separate occasions.
Arbiv allegedly did not report these alleged bribe offers to his superiors in real time, which allegedly constitutes a breach of trust on the part of the former senior officer.
In an interview with Uvda, Arbiv addresses for the first time the nature of his relationship with Rabbi Pinto. In response to the question whether it would not have been appropriate for him to update his commander on his conversation with Rabbi Pinto, and on the rabbi's attempts to use it against senior police officers involved in the investigation, Arbiv replied: "Why would I have needed to?""
The article also revealed that the Attorney General is demanding that Rabbi Pinto appear in Israel on June 1st to testify about the alleged benefits granted to Arbiv and his family, and to undergo a polygraph test to confirm his version. If the evidence is found to justify filing an indictment against Chief Arbiv, according to the investigation in 'Uvda', Rabbi Pinto will sign a state witness agreement under which he will stand trial on charges of attempting to bribe the current head of the Yaha, Deputy Chief Ephraim Bracha.
In such a case, the prosecution will demand that he be sentenced to a sentence not exceeding one year in prison.
