'May he be struck down'

JERUSALEM - Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef has slammed Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for the Gaza disengagement plan, calling Sharon "cruel and evil," Yedioth Ahronoth reports Wednesday. Speaking during his weekly address at Jerusalem’s Chavaat Daat synagogue, Yosef prayed that Sharon " be struck once and die”, and said the prime minister is “cruel to the nation of Israel". Yosef later said he regrets that his remarks were misinterpreted, and that he wishes Sharon a long life. "What kind of cruel and evil person does these things?" Yosef asked. "By the sweat of their brows, these people built homes, year after year, generation after generation. Now they are going to take away their homes and give them to the Arabs?" Yosef also said God remains silent and refuses to perform miracles for Israel because the nation does not study enough Torah and does not observe the commandments. The address, in Jerusalem’s Har Nof neighborhood, is attended by hundreds of supporters each week, and thousands more listen via radio and satellite links around the world. Yosef also singled out the Shinui party as “Jew haters”, and denounced right-wing calls for a national referendum on the disengagement plan. “Referendum? Who would we ask? Labor would support the plan, most of the Likud would support it, the Jew haters in Shinui would certainly support it. What do they care?" he said. “Then they’ll rely on Arab Knesset members to push it through? What in the world is going on here? We’ll kick out Jews and give their homes to Arabs? For what? To curry favor with the international community? What does he (Sharon) expect to gain from this?" On a positive note, Yosef ended the lecture by warning supporters not to despair: “God can save us at the last moment,” he said. “Even a drawn sword, held against the throat, is no match for God’s compassion.”

'May he be struck down'

In an unprecedented attack, Shas spiritual leader calls Prime Minister Sharon ‘evil’ and prays for his demise