Top rabbi's wife and son charged

Shlomo Amar has said he is standing by his wife Mazal

The wife and a son of Israel's chief Sephardic rabbi have been charged over the alleged kidnapping and beating of his daughter's 17-year-old boyfriend.

Shlomo Amar himself was not charged after answering police questions about whether he had known of the assault.

He has blamed his son Meir, saying he had strayed from religion, but denied his wife had any role in the incident.

Two Israeli Arabs have also been charged in connection with the alleged assault, the justice ministry said.

"The decision to file an indictment against my wife fills me with sorrow because I am certain with all my heart and soul that she did not know anything about Meir's intentions," the rabbi said in a statement.

Mazal Amar is alleged to have encouraged her son to put a stop to what she considered an inappropriate relationship.

Imprisoned

The indictment says the youth concerned was kidnapped, beaten at knifepoint, and told he would not escape with his life.

The Israeli Arabs - Abdullah and Ahmad Sawalme - allegedly assaulted the teenager after Meir tricked him to get into a car and drove him to their home.

Ayala Amar is said to have met the boy via the internet

The assault shifted to the rabbi's house the following day, the indictment says.

Meir Amar is said to have spoken to both his parents there, and Mrs Amar is alleged to have watched the beatings and served the assailants coffee.

The youth, who was not identified because of his age, reportedly got to know 18-year-old Ayala Amar in an internet chatroom.

The two teenagers subsequently met without a chaperone - something which is taboo in ultra-Orthodox thinking.

The assailants allegedly cut off the youth's forelocks during the assault, a terrible humiliation for ultra-Orthodox Jews.

Israel has two government-appointed chief rabbis - one Sephardic for Jews of Middle Eastern origin and one Ashkenazi for European Jews.