The Board of Deputies has warned the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel against “stoking prejudice” towards Israel’s minorities
Board President Jonathan Arkush and Senior Vice President Richard Verber said: “We condemn remarks reportedly made by the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel Yitzhak Yosef in which he apparently said that non-Jews should not be allowed to live in Israel unless they abide by the Noachide Laws. Such comments risk stoking prejudice towards Israel’s minorities at a time when unity is sorely needed. They are also a source of embarrassment.
“In this context it is important to recall and uphold the Declaration of Independence of the State of Israel which states: ‘It will foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; it will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel; it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture; it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions; and it will be faithful to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations’.”