Posted on 10/23/2010 7:00:47 PM PDT by BlackVeil
JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Israeli Sephardic leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef in his weekly Saturday night sermon said that non-Jews exist to serve Jews.
“Goyim were born only to serve us. Without that, they have no place in the world; only to serve the People of Israel,” he said during a public discussion of what kind of work non-Jews are allowed to perform on Shabbat.
"Why are gentiles needed? They will work, they will plow, they will reap. We will sit like an effendi and eat," he said to some laughter.
Yosef, the spiritual leader of the Shas Party and the former chief Sephardi rabbi of Israel, also said that the lives of non-Jews are protected in order to prevent financial loss to Jews.
"With gentiles, it will be like any person: They need to die, but God will give them longevity. Why? Imagine that one’s donkey would die, they’d lose their money. This is his servant. That’s why he gets a long life, to work well for this Jew,” said the rabbi, who recently turned 90.
An audio recording of some of the rabbi's remarks was broadcast on Israel's Channel 10.
The American Jewish Committee condemned the rabbi's remarks in a statement issued Monday.
"Rabbi Yosef’s remarks -- suggesting outrageously that Jewish scripture asserts non-Jews exist to serve Jews -- are abhorrent and an offense to human dignity and human equality,” said AJC Executive Director David Harris. "Judaism first taught the world that all individuals are created in the divine image, which helped form the basis of our moral code. A rabbi should be the first, not the last, to reflect that bedrock teaching of our tradition."
That article, as posted, contains a condemnation of Rabbi Ovadiah's statement by an American Jewish group. There have been other such statements, in regard to this pronouncement. Actually, I was not aware of him being condemned by any Israeli rabbinical groups.
Earlier, there was a milder controversy when Rabbi Ovadiah called for the death of the entire Palestinian population. The US govt did condemn those remarks as being unhelpful to the peace process (ya think?)
Rabbi Ovadiah’s statement has been condemned, quite comprehensively, by American Jewish Committees. There is no suggestion that he should be removed from his position in the Shas party. His remarks caused little attention in Israel, either because they are dismissive of him, or because there are larger controversies about another Rabbi with a book advocating extremist ideologies. This other Rabbi was nearly jailed under Israel’s laws against incitement.
I am sure that many people (like you) think he is a Jackass, and others think he is a great scholar who is past his prime and maybe lost his marbles. Others do support what he says - he has a public.
In the Arab world, the fact that he is from Iraq gets a good amount of attention - as if it is an explanation. Iraqis have a reputation as a violent and unstable people, and nothing that Rabbi Ovadiah does tends to quell this prejudice.
Speak for yourself. Rabbi Yosef might not be liked by the secular Ashkenazi elite. But nearly all Sephardim revere him, and for good reason. His Halacha is sensitive, informed, moderate, and exceptionally well-reasoned. He's probably the greatest Sephardi Rabbi since Yosef Karo.
He’s not liked or particularly respected by the Ashkenazi Haredi in Israel, either, sorry.
In fact, I would opine the Sephardim merely tolerate him; it’s only the Mitzrahim who like him, and that’s based on cultural reasons, not religious.
He does have a great PR man, though.
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