The United States condemned the words of Shas' spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef against PA President Mahmoud Abbas and Palestinian Arabs. A statement released the by the US State Department said that Rabbi Yosef's words are "not only very harmful, but also affect the efforts to achieve peace." Rabbi Yosef made a public wish on Saturday night during his weekly sermon that "our enemies and haters may come to an end, Abu Mazen and all these villains – may the Holy One, Blessed Be He, afflict them with the plague... these evil enemies of Israel."
