Ex-Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef Declares Voting for Ben-Gvir Forbidden
Translated & summarized from Panet by baba
Former Israeli Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef has declared it religiously forbidden to vote for Itamar Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit party. The statement, titled "A Holy Call and a Dangerous Warning," criticizes the party for encouraging visits to the Temple Mount, which Yosef deems a grave religious transgression. He urged the public to boycott the party in elections, citing his father's similar stance. Polls suggest Otzma Yehudit currently has about seven Knesset seats.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Former Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef declared voting for Itamar Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit party religiously forbidden.
- Yosef condemned the party for encouraging ascents to the Temple Mount, calling it a grave transgression.
- He urged the public to boycott Otzma Yehudit in elections, citing religious and nationalistic concerns.
- The rabbi's stance aligns with that of his late father, Shas founder Rabbi Ovadia Yosef.
- Otzma Yehudit is currently projected to hold around seven seats in the Knesset, according to polls.
Former Israeli Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef issued a strong, unusual statement on Sunday, titled "A Holy Call and a Dangerous Warning," directly attacking the Otzma Yehudit party and its leader, Itamar Ben-Gvir. Yosef, who also heads the Council of Torah Sages of the Shas movement, criticized the party for encouraging visits to the Temple Mount, a practice he stated has been definitively forbidden by prominent Jewish religious scholars throughout history.
Yosef condemned the party's representatives as "extremists" who provoke the public by promoting and sanctifying ascents to the Temple Mount, leading people into violations punishable by "karet" (divine excision) and into "extreme nationalism." He described their media appearances as "desecrating the name of heaven and desecrating the First and Second Temples" and stressed the obligation to protest these actions.
Beyond religious condemnation, Yosef issued a clear political directive, urging the public to boycott Otzma Yehudit in elections. "There is a complete prohibition and an obligation to protest against providing assistance to their party, and it is forbidden to grant them power in the elections," he stated. He explained that anyone voting for the party commits a religious offense and becomes complicit in misleading the public into grave transgressions.
Yosef based his stance on the approach of his late father, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the spiritual leader and founder of the Shas movement, who also strongly opposed groups encouraging Temple Mount visits. The former chief rabbi concluded by calling for non-support of any entity that advocates for ascents to the Temple Mount.
Recent opinion polls indicate that Itamar Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit party currently holds approximately seven seats in the Knesset.
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