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August 30, 2010

Influential Israel Rabbi: Palestinians Should Perish with a Plague
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An influential Israeli rabbi is coming under criticism after he gave a
sermon Saturday in which he prayed for all Palestinians to perish in
plague. Rabbi Ovadia Yosef is the founder of the Shas party, part of
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government.

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef: "May our enemies and haters end. Abu Mazen and all
these evil people should perish from this earth. God should strike them
and these Palestinians—evil haters of Israel—with a plague."

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef’s comments come just days before Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud
Abbas are scheduled to begin direct talks in Washington. Palestinian
Authority spokesperson Ghassan Khatib condemned the Rabbi’s remarks.

Ghassan Khatib: "The statement that we heard from Ovadia Yosef is a
racist incitement statement that is responsible for increasing the
hatred and deepening the racist attitude among the Israeli society."