[Jewbacca]

Just a little insider information regarding this "rabbi" and the Shas party he represents.

1. The Shas party are basically a niche welfare party for a subgroup of Orthodox Jewish people who don't work, don't serve in the military, and generally suck off the public dole at the expense of actual productive Israeli citizens.

2. The Shas party are hated by most self-respecting Israelis. I despise them, myself.

3. The Shas party does, however, vote in a block. Israeli politics are extremely fractured and being consistently unified permits the Shas to exert more power than their numbers would otherwise suggest.

4. This shmuck is NOT a respected rabbi in Israel. Citing him for authority would be like citing the Reverand Jesse Jackson or Reverand Jerimiah Wright for views on Protestant Christianity. Note the condemnation of his comments by much more mainstream Rabbis and groups in the article.

5. He is not even talking about what people in America consider non-Jewish people. He is talking about any Israeli that does not share his lay-about-scum-bag-pretend-to-be-pious-while-stealing lifestyle. The Shas-variety of Orthodox dismiss Jewish Israelis as "goy" who must work for them so they can "study the torah" (what they really do is screw around, run scams, sell drugs, and be generally worthless).

6. The theology he is twisting for his evil, bigoted, purposes relates to each people having a different purpose in the service of G-d --- Jewish people supposed to be serving as priests and examples, the Levites, in particular. The corollary to this is Jewish people would serve non-Jewish people 6 days out of the week (6 for 1, not a bad trade), but no one ever wants to talk about that part, as it fits neither the lay-about agenda of the Jewish supremicists, nor the race-baiting agenda of the anti-semites.

[ArrogantBustard]

Thank you.

The Shas-variety of Orthodox dismiss Jewish Israelis as "goy"

That is a truly unexpected bit of information, and puts "rabbi" Jackass in perspective.

The theology he is twisting ...

Again, thank you ... your explanation makes far more sense than the stuff in the original post.

[Just mythoughts]

.....Reverand Jerimiah Wright ......

Thank you very much as these words reminded me exactly of BamBamKennedy's preacher and the exact methodology the BamBam's have done to US. We mere nothings are put here to 'serve' them.

[Tribune7]

Citing him for authority would be like citing the Reverand Jesse Jackson or Reverand Jerimiah Wright for views on Protestant Christianity.

Excellent point!

[WVNan]

Thank you for the explanation. For some reason I have never heard of this group and I thought I was pretty informed on all things Jewish. Makes sense that the 10% rule would get distorted out of proportion, human nature being what it is.

[Carry_Okie]

The corollary to this is Jewish people would serve non-Jewish people 6 days out of the week (6 for 1, not a bad trade), but no one ever wants to talk about that part, as it fits neither the lay-about agenda of the Jewish supremicists, nor the race-baiting agenda of the anti-semites.

I pretty well understood who this guy represented. Frankly, I really don't think they do all that well on the "study Torah" front either; else he wouldn't behave like this. Pretty crappy of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency to represent him as a generic "Sephardi."

[RJR_fan]

Thank you so much for your helpful “inside information.” Airing dirty laundry in public is humbling, but such honesty enhances the overall reputation of your community.

[Psalm 144]

Thank you for posting this. Yours is without a doubt the most constructive post in the thread.

Regarding your individual points:

1) I think I read about this group a couple of years ago, specifically with reference to their pacifism within an embattled nation, at the very time some of their words and actions were quite inflammatory towards their government, other Israelis, and the Arabs. They put me in mind of the American Westboro Baptist Church, if it is the same outfit.

2) My extra energy goes into the back and forth struggle to not hate certain elements of the American populace. So this is not my watch, fortunately. I have more than I can competently handle, as it is.

3) Yet another tail wagging the dog then? A common feature in American politics too.

4) Gotcha. The rejection by other organizations was noted, btw.

5) Ugh. One of those. Somewhat cult like then?

6) I am not familiar with the details of this doctrine, but certainly do see the analogy with Levites. A large number of Evangelicals certainly accept the idea that there is a continuing, unique covenant relationship between God and the seed of Abraham. The substance and continuity of this covenant is subject to debate within the broad Christian community, of course.

[DGHoodini]

Ah.....*Liberals*! ;)

[Boogieman]

“4. This shmuck is NOT a respected rabbi in Israel. Citing him for authority would be like citing the Reverand Jesse Jackson or Reverand Jerimiah Wright for views on Protestant Christianity.”

I kind of got that impression, but still, anti-semites don’t tend to be very scrupulous in mentioning facts like that when they seize upon these kind of quotes to demonize all Jews. The hardcore nazis are already set in their beliefs of course, but they can use stuff like this to try and convince gullible people to come around to their way of thinking. That’s why it’s so unfortunate that there are schmucks like this guy willing to give them the ammo they’re looking for.

[BlackVeil]

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.

[ChicagoHebrew]

4. This shmuck is NOT a respected rabbi in Israel. Citing him for authority would be like citing the Reverand Jesse Jackson or Reverand Jerimiah Wright for views on Protestant Christianity. Note the condemnation of his comments by much more mainstream Rabbis and groups in the article.

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.