State Department denounces Ovadia Yosef's comments about Palestinian leadership

WASHINGTON, D.C. –Assistant Secretary of State Philip Crowley on Sunday issued a statement condemning remarks by former Chief Sephardic Rabbi Ovadia Yosef that , in essence, called upon God to strike down the Palestinian leadership.

“We regret and condemn the inflammatory statements by Rabbi Ovadia Yosef,” Crowley’s statement said.  “We note the Israeli statement that the Rabbi’s comments do not reflect the views of the Prime Minister. 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.”
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Preceding based on statements by the U.S. State Department and a column by Ira Sharkansky