"You don't eat kosher? You will be fool". Rabbi raised anger among Israelis

The Sephardic Chief Rabbi in Israel, Yitzhak Yosef, has previously been known for his controversial statements. A few years ago, he publicly declared that only Jews should have the right to live in the country. Later, he called immigrants from the former Soviet Union "religion-hating gentiles" and stated that "tens, even hundreds of thousands of non-Jews came to settle in Israel under the Law of Return". After these words, a storm broke out in the country.

There's a lot of talk about Josef again. During Sunday's sermon, the chief rabbi stated that secular Israelis who do not consume kosher food are stupid. - "A person who eats non-kosher food becomes stupid," - quotes the shocking words of the rabbi "The Jewish News".

The Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel has declared that he sees everything that is happening in the secular part of society and it is unhappy. People are "dissatisfied with their life", "they derive no satisfaction", and "everything revolves around desire". According to Josef, this is because non-believers are jealous of the Orthodox Jews, and jealousy breeds hatred. - "They are jealous of us, it's all due to jealousy," he said during Sunday's sermon.

- The only foolishness is that secular society finances and pays a salary to such a backward person like you - commented Rabbi Avigdor Lieberman, the leader of the Yisrael Beitenu party.

The leader of the Israeli opposition, Yair Lapid, also had a strong reaction to Josef's words. On social media, he wrote that "he is not the main rabbi of Israel, but the rabbi of a vocal minority, who curses from the podium the millions of Jews serving in the army, risking and sacrificing their lives, working and maintaining this country". He added that the rabbi was right in one thing - everyone felt "a bit foolish when they remembered that they are the ones paying his salary".

Source: The Jewish News