Hundreds protest UK visit of rabbi who said Down Syndrome caused by past sins

Rabbi Mizrahi, who in the past has reduced the number of Holocaust victims, has postponed his visit to the UK following a petition against his appearance in the nation.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Updated: SEPTEMBER 6, 2016 13:39
Rabbi Yosef Mizrachi (photo credit: TWITTER)
Rabbi Yosef Mizrachi
(photo credit: TWITTER)
A petition condemning the visit to Britain of a rabbi who has expressed controversial views has sparked uproar in the UK that led to the launch of a petition against his arrive, according to The Jewish chronicle.
Rabbi Yosef Mizrahi has roused controversy over his views including his proclamation that autism and Down Syndrome are consequences of sins in a previous life.
As of Monday morning, more than 500 people had signed the petition titled "Protest the hateful views of Rabbi Yosef Mizrachi" on the website Change.org in protest of the rabbi's slated upcoming visit due to his "highly offensive, bigoted and hateful views," as was written on the website.
Mizrahi was born in Israel and after his IDF service immigrated to the US.
He has previously stated that Ashkenazi Jews were in part responsible for the Holocaust due to inter-marriage and their secular lifestyle, according to the Jewish Chronicle.
He told the outlet that he was not sure if he would arrive to the UK as he does not yet have a date. However, following the launch of the petition, references on his website to the pending UK  visit were removed.
In 2015, the rabbi apologized for saying that only one million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust and not six million.
Another one of his claims is that breast cancer and cancers of male and female genitalia is caused due to "sinning" with those organs, comparing woman who have lost their virginity to an open bottle of cola, claiming they were were virtually nothing.
Mizrahi previously visited the UK in 2014 where he reportedly spoke at multiple Sephardi synagogues and at Jewish secondary schools.
Jeremy Sharon contributed to this article.