Israeli Rabbi: Non-Jews should not live in Israel
Israeli Rabbi: Non-Jews should not live in Israel
A controversial Israeli Rabbi said that non-Jews that do not follow mandatory Jewish laws should not be allowed to live in Israel and should be expelled to Saudi Arabia.
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The Rabbi was criticised for encouraging Israelis to kill attackers earlier this month [Getty]
A Jewish Rabbi caused controversy when he said that non-Jews should not be allowed to live in Israel if they do not follow the mandatory Noahide laws, according to Judaism.
Israel's Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef said only those who abide by the seven laws which include prohibitions on denying the existence of God, blasphemy, murder, illicit sexual relations, theft, and eating from a live animal, as well as a requirement to instate a legal system, should be allowed to remain in Israel, adding those that do not should be expelled to Saudi Arabia.
"According to Jewish law, gentiles [non-Jew] should not live in the Land of Israel," Yosef said Saturday in a sermon. "If a gentile does not agree to take on the seven Noahide Laws, we should send him to Saudi Arabia. When the true and complete redemption arrives, that is what we will do."
The Rabbi suggested the only reason non-Jews were still allowed to live in Israel was due to the fact that the Messiah had yet to arrive. "If our hand were firm, if we had the power to rule, that's what we should do. But the thing is, our hand is not firm, and we are waiting for the Messiah," he added.
But the Rabbi is not new to controversy.
Earlier this month, Yosef encouraged those being attacked by 'terrorists' to kill the perpetrator, referring to an increase in stabbings by Palestinians attempting to fight occupation forces.
"If a terrorist shows up with a knife, it is commanded [by Jewish law] to kill him," Yosef said.
"You shouldn't be afraid," he insisted, quoting the ancient rabbinic exhortation, "He who comes to kill you, arise to kill him [first]."
Numerous assaults have taken place in a six month wave of violence that has left about 200 Palestinians and 28 Israelis dead.
Last week, an Israeli soldier was detained after a video spread widely online showed him shooting a wounded Palestinian assailant in the head and killing him as he lay on the ground.
The shooting took place after the two Palestinians allegedly stabbed and lightly wounded an Israeli soldier, an Israeli army spokesperson said.
Israel blames the attacks on Palestinian incitement while Palestinians lay the blame on frustration stemming from nearly five decades of Israeli military occupation.
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