Former Chief Rabbi Rules Against Voting for Otzma Yehudit
Translated & summarized from Ynet by baba
Former Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef has ruled that voting for Itamar Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit party is forbidden by Jewish law. The prohibition stems from Ben-Gvir's visits to the Temple Mount, which Yosef deems a severe transgression. He warned that supporting such a party is akin to participating in the transgression and is forbidden by Halakha.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Former Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef declared voting for Otzma Yehudit forbidden by Jewish law.
- The prohibition is due to party leader Itamar Ben-Gvir's ascents to the Temple Mount.
- Yosef cited the severe spiritual punishment of karet as a consequence of such actions.
- He stated that supporting the party is equivalent to participating in the transgression.
- The ruling was published in a letter by the former Chief Rabbi.
Former Chief Rabbi and Rishon LeZion Yitzhak Yosef has declared that according to Halakha (Jewish law), it is forbidden to vote for the Otzma Yehudit party, led by Itamar Ben-Gvir. Yosef cited Ben-Gvir's ascent to the Temple Mount as the reason for this prohibition. He stated that "all the great rabbis of the generations without exception have absolutely forbidden it out of fear of karet!" (a severe spiritual punishment).
In a letter Yosef published, he wrote that "public figures who define themselves as nationalists and sanctify the ascent to the Temple Mount have arisen, and they cause the public to stumble into the prohibition of karet. One who supports the party of one who ascends to the Temple Mount and encourages the ascent is as if he himself is subject to the prohibition of karet. Therefore, it is forbidden according to Halakha to support the party."
