ONE of Israel's most senior rabbis provoked outrage yesterday with a sermon calling on God to annihilate the Arabs.
Rabbi Ovadia Yossef, a former chief rabbi and founder of the Shas religious party, the third largest in the Israeli parliament, said: "It is forbidden to be merciful to them. You must send missiles to them and annihilate them. They are evil and damnable. May the Holy Name visit retribution on the heads of the Arabs and cause their seed to be lost."
The sermon was delivered on the occasion of the Passover, the Jewish feast which commemorates the biblical deliverance of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Rabbi Ovadia, who was born in Iraq, is known for his outspoken comments and has referred to Arabs as "vipers". A spokesman for the Shas party said the rabbi was referring only to "murderers and terrorists". He said: "Only an idiot could understand that the rabbi intended harm to innocents."