Rabbi Chacham Ovadia Yosef
The next four years in New York City promise to offer a
refreshing albeit dysfunctional departure from the Bloomberg “Nanny State,” at
least if Bill de Blasio, the presumptive next Mayor follows through and
actually wins the coming November election. He is heavily favored.
In response to a recent attack by a gang of bikers on an Asian
couple driving through the Washington Heights section of Manhattan, he inanely
suggested that police visit motorcycle clubs and “talk with the bikers.”
But perhaps even worse was de Blasio’s office recently issuing a
statement hailing the “wisdom, charity and sensitivity” of a notorious Israeli
rabbi who died Monday, October 7th, 2013. Over the years that Rabbi, Ovadia Yosef has made shocking remarks about non-Jews, blacks, Palestinians and
even Jews.
More than 800,000 Israelis mourned 93-year-old Rabbi Chacham Ovadia
Yosef, a spiritual leader, political force and former chief rabbi for Jews of
Spanish, North African and Middle Eastern origin.
De Blasio praised Ovadia Yosef without mentioning that even the
Anti-Defamation League had repudiated many of the rabbi’s hate-filled
statements.
Bill de Blasio’s camp called Rabbi Ovadia Yosef’s wisdom,
charity and sensitivity “legendary.”
“Millions of people around the world lost a leader today in
Rabbi Chacham Ovadia Yosef,” de Blasio, the
public advocate and Democratic nominee for mayor, Tweeted and said in a
statement, adding, “His
wisdom, charity and sensitivity were legendary.”
But Yosef has drawn scathing criticism over the years for his
stance on gays, Palestinians, non-Jews and even Holocaust victims.
In 2000, Yosef criticized the Nazis as “evil,” but in the same
breath said the 6 million Jews died in the Holocaust because they were “reincarnations of the souls of
sinners, people who transgressed and did all sorts of things which should not
be done.”
“They had been reincarnated in order to atone,” Yosef said at the time.
In late 2005, Yosef blamed the death and destruction of
Hurricane Katrina on the fact that the majority black population of New Orleans
didn’t study the Torah.
“Tens of thousands have been killed,” he was quoted as saying in his weekly Saturday
sermon.“All of this because they have no God.”
In a 2010 sermon he said that Abbas should “perish from the world,” but later apologized.
It was such inflammatory remarks that drew more nuanced
responses to his passing in some corners — including from Abraham Foxman,
national director of the Anti-Defamation League.
Republican mayoral candidate Joe Lhota expressed condolences,
while acknowledging that the rabbi “has
made statements over time that were unfortunate.”
Lhota said he didn’t take issue with de Blasio’s unqualified
statement — even though critics on Twitter did.
Gawker went a step further with a story that highlighted some of
Yosef’s choice remarks headlined, “Bill de Blasio Mourns Death of Very Racist
Rabbi.”
Included was a statement in 2010 that suggested that the purpose
of non-Jews was 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 was quoted as telling the Israeli newspaper
Haaretz.
Wiley Norvell, a spokesman in de Blasio’s office, said his
condolences weren’t meant to be a sign of outright support. “Bill, like the US ambassador to
Israel, was offering his condolences, not an endorsement of his views,” said Norvell.
THIS promises to be a fun way to further discredit activist
government, piling on its already stockpiled recent failings.
JMK
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