Israel’s former Sephardic Chief Rabbi, Rav Yitzchok Yosef, sharply criticized the conduct of the Israeli military police regarding the arrest of yeshiva students, charging that the enforcement is discriminatory and disproportionately targets Sephardic youth.
Speaking last night at the start of his weekly shiur at the Yazdim Shul, Rav Yosef addressed what he described as a clear pattern in the recent initiated arrests, noting that all detainees thus far have been from Sephardic backgrounds.
During his remarks, Rav Yosef commented pointedly on the issue, turning to the guest rov next to him and saying: “The rov lives in France. If he were living in Israel, he would learn from the authorities to arrest only Sephardim. There is discrimination. Baruch Hashem, he is in France — there, there is no discrimination.”
Rav Yosef also referenced a recent meeting he held last week with Avraham Malul, a talmid at Yeshiva Or Yehuda, who had been arrested and jailed after being classified as a draft evader and was later released.
Addressing the matter further during the meeting, Rav Yosef said: “Unfortunately, we see that they are mainly arresting Sephardic boys, residents of the periphery. Hashem should save us.”
In recent months, Rav Yosef has repeatedly spoken out on the issue during his weekly shiurim, delivering especially forceful criticism of the nighttime arrests. In one such address, he said: “They are arresting mainly Sephardim. They know the mother is weak, the father is weak. You need to strengthen yourselves. What is this, Russia? Is this a communist regime? Bolsheviks? They go and arrest yeshiva boys in the middle of the night, banging loudly on the door. If they knock, look through the peephole. You need to be strong. Hashem should help that this period pass. It is a very difficult period.”
The criticism was echoed by Rav Yehuda Cohen, a member of the Moetzet Chachmei Hatorah of Shas and rosh yeshiva of Be’er HaTalmud, who spoke in particularly blunt terms. “Listen — all of those arrested are Sephardim only. Only Sephardim!” he said. “Those who choose them in all those parties should know well how much they love Sephardim.”
He added: “They don’t dare arrest Ashkenazim — only Sephardim. I already said two years ago: they are Ashkenazim, they will never touch them. Only the Sephardim. They think we are nothing, absolutely nothing.”
{Matzav.com}
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United Torah Judaism chairman MK Yitzchok Goldknopf sharply criticized the Likud after the party released an official statement during Shabbos, calling the move a serious affront to religious sensitivities.
The statement in question was issued Friday night by Likud spokesman Guy Levy, after the onset of Shabbos. The message reiterated accusations against Qatar Gate suspect Eli Feldstein, who previously served as military spokesman in the Prime Minister’s Office, while at the same time expressing support for another Qatar Gate suspect, Yonatan Urich, an adviser to Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu.
Goldknopf said the decision to publish the announcement at that time was entirely unnecessary and should never have been done on Shabbos.
“Publishing an official political message at the height of Shabbos crosses a red line and constitutes severe harm to Shabbos’ sanctity and to the status quo, which are basic values of the State of Israel as a Jewish state,” he said.
He added that beyond the substance of the statement itself, the timing reflected a troubling disregard for the Shabbos-observant public. “In addition to the contents of the statement, the very decision to publish such a statement on Shabbos expresses contempt for the Shabbos-observant public and severe harm to the public. There is no justification, not political and not media-related, to violate Shabbos for the sake of managing denials and political spins.”
{Matzav.com}
