A 42-year-old Yemenite rabbi was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment today following his conviction on charges of having practiced sorcery promised to sell the crown and throne of Biblical King Solomon and in other fashions obtained money under false pretences.
The rabbi Ovadia Bareti, was accused of obtaining 10, 000 pounds from Medard Barzilai on the promise of obtaining for him the Biblical treasure, the appointment as the Messiah and the appointment of heir to King Solomon. The rabbi is said to have played on Barzilai’s credulity with “letters of fire” written on his typewriter.
The letters to Barzilai purported to come from the Archangels Gabriel, Michael and Raphael and from the Almighty. The return address was always in care of Rabbi Bareti. The rabbi appointed his wife, mother of nine children and pregnant with her tenth, treasurer for the monies the “Archangels” had instructed Barzilai to deposit.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
