In Widely Condemned Remarks, Shas Rabbi Says Abbas ‘Should Perish’
On the eve of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, the spiritual leader of the Shas Party wished for the demise of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
“Abu Mazen and all these evil people should perish from this world,” Rabbi Ovadia Yosef reportedly said during his weekly Saturday night sermon at a Jerusalem synagogue. “God should strike them with a plague, them and these Palestinians.”
Yosef also called the Palestinians “evil, bitter enemies of Israel.”
The Palestinian Authority’s chief negotiator, Saeb Erekat, responded to Yosef’s remarks in a statement issued Sunday.
“The spiritual leader of Shas is literally calling for a genocide against Palestinians, and there seems to be no response from the Israeli government,” the statement said.
“He is particularly calling for the assassination of President Abbas, who within a few days will be sitting face to face with Prime Minister Netanyahu. Is this how the Israeli government prepares its public for a peace agreement?”
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.