Rabbi Ovadia Yosef: Pray for the destruction of Iran

Shas spiritual leader calls on followers to ask God to wipe out "evil ones who threaten Israel," in their Rosh Hashana prayers.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Rabbi Ovadia Yosef 311 (photo credit: Courtesy)
Rabbi Ovadia Yosef 311
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef called on his followers on Saturday night to include prayers to God on Rosh Hashana to destroy Iran and their Hezbollah proxy in Lebanon, Army Radio reported on Sunday.
According to the report, Rabbi Yosef received an update from National Security Council head Yaakov Amidror detailing the importance of attacking Iran's nuclear facilities, and calling on him to pray for the destruction of Iran.
The update followed a meeting between the two, and was most likely aimed at gaining Shas’s support for a strike.
The Rabbi responded during his weekly address: “When we say the blessing over the dates at our Rosh Hashana meal this year, and we ask God to ‘bring an end to our enemies,’ we should be thinking about Iran, those evil ones who threaten Israel. May the Lord destroy them.”
The blessing over the date, tamar in Hebrew, is that God "put an end to the enemies, haters and those who wish evil" upon the Israelites.
Click here for full Jpost coverage of the Iranian threat
Click here for full Jpost coverage of the Iranian threat
Last Saturday, during his weekly Torah lesson, Yosef briefly mentioned as an aside the issue of Iran’s nuclear program.
“A second Haman, also from Persia, intends to do evil to us,” he said in reference to a Persian enemy of the Jewish people recorded in the Biblical book of Esther.
“We need to stand in prayer with all our hearts before God,” he continued. “A second Haman, also from Persia, intends to do evil to us,” he said in reference to a Persian enemy of the Jewish people recorded in the Biblical book of Esther. “We need to stand in prayer with all our hearts before God,” he continued.
Coalition chairman MK Ze’ev Elkin commented last week on an ongoing dialogue between the Prime Minister's Office and the Shas spiritual leader.
“I know that the prime minister is conducting talks with Shas leaders, and certainly with the rabbi,” Elkin told Kikar Hashabbat. “If and when the day comes, he will present the rabbi with all the facts and information,” the MK added, referring to a possible Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear facilities.
Jeremy Sharon contributed to this report.