FEATURED JOBS
Comments (0)The Obama administration condemned what it said was incitement by an influential Israeli rabbi.
“We regret and condemn the inflammatory statements by Rabbi Ovadia Yosef,” State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Sunday in a statement.
On the eve of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, Yosef, a former chief Sephardic rabbi and the spiritual leader of the Shas Party, wished for the demise of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
“Abu Mazen and all these evil people should perish from this world,” Yosef reportedly said during his weekly Saturday night sermon at a Jerusalem synagogue, using Abbas’ byname. “God should strike them with a plague, them and these Palestinians.”
Palestinian Authority officials have asked the Israeli government to condemn the remarks. Shas is a member of the governing coalition, but Yosef has no formal government role.
“We note the Israeli statement that the Rabbi’s comments do not reflect the views of the Prime Minister.” Crowley said. “These remarks are not only deeply offensive, but incitement such as this hurts the cause of peace. As we move forward to relaunch peace negotiations, it is important that actions by people on all sides help to advance our effort, not hinder it.”
U.S. officials in the past have condemned incitement by the Hamas terrorist group, which governs the Gaza Strip, and by bodies associated with the Palestinian Authority.
The Anti-Defamation League on Monday condemned Yosef’s statements as “offensive and incendiary,” cautioning that his words “contribute to a potentially dangerous environment of intolerance and hatred.”
Presidents Conf. Launches Shalit Campaign
A leading American Jewish umbrella group has started a national campaign in support of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.
The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations on Monday launched the website http://www.giladgreetings.org to allow people around the world to send birthday and High Holidays greetings for Shalit.
The soldier, 24, captured in a cross-border raid in June 2006 and reportedly being held by Hamas in Gaza, on Saturday marked his fifth birthday in captivity.
Greetings can be submitted through the website or by mail to the Presidents Conference, which will deliver the greetings to the International Committee of the Red Cross. The Red Cross has been denied the right to visit Shalit.
The site was designed to support and encourage efforts by the Red Cross to press Hamas to allow its representatives to visit Shalit, in compliance with international law. Shalit has been held in isolation since he was captured.
Printed greetings can be sent to Shalit in care of the Conference of Presidents, 633 Third Ave., 21st Floor, New York, NY 10017. Cards also may be dropped off in specially designated mailboxes at participating JCCs throughout the United States, or at various Magen David Adom locations in Israel.
The campaign also includes advertisements to be shown four times per hour daily through Sept. 5 on the high-definition digital billboard on the W Hotel at 47th Street in Times Square.
“As we approach Rosh Hashanah, let us remember our responsibility to raise our voices and do everything possible to gain Gilad’s freedom, and to offer strength to his family until they are reunited with their son and brother,” Presidents Conference Chairman Alan Solow and Executive Vice Chairman Malcolm Hoenlein said in a statement.
Walk Out On Ahmadinejad at U.N., Key Jewish Group Urges
A major Jewish umbrella organization has called on member states of the United Nations to walk out on a speech by Iran’s president.
Anticipating that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad again will seek to address the General Assembly this year, leaders of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations issued a statement asking delegates to leave should Ahmadinejad be allowed to speak before the international body.
The 65th session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York starts Sept. 14.
“It is imperative for nations to cherish the values of freedom and mutual respect and absent themselves or walk out if President Ahmadinejad speaks before the U.N. General Assembly,” Presidents Conference Chairman Alan Solow and Executive Vice Chair Malcolm Hoenlein said in the statement. “We are issuing the call well in advance of the UNGA opening session so that nations have a chance to deliberate and ample time to make a decision.
“President Ahmadinejad’s rhetoric has only become more extreme as have the violations of human rights under his government. Optimally, we would like to see Mr. Ahmadinejad denied the opportunity to speak at the UN as he violates its charter by threatening and calling for the elimination of another member state.”