Spiritual leader of Shas calls for ‘plague’ on Abbas

An influential Israeli rabbi known for his vitriolic pronouncements against Arabs says Palestinians and their leader should “perish from this world.”

Israel Army Radio quoted Rabbi Ovadia Yosef as saying the Palestinians were “evil, bitter enemies of Israel” and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas should be struck with a plague. He made the remarks in an Aug. 28 evening sermon.

With Yosef’s pronouncement coming on the eve of a new round of peace talks, the Obama administration immediately reacted.

“We regret and condemn the inflammatory statements by Rabbi Ovadia Yosef,” State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Aug. 29 in a statement.

The 89-year-old rabbi is a respected religious scholar among Jews of Middle Eastern descent. He is also spiritual leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas political movement — part of Israel’s coalition government.

Yosef has upset many over the years with declarations against Arabs, secular Jews, liberals, women and gays, among others. — ap