Ovadia Yosef: Great Sage or Hateful Extremist? Jeffrey Goldberg’s 2013 Take on the Shas Leader’s Legacy

In the new Epstein files document EFTA01951982.pdf mentions, (download the full document below) Article 6: Bloomberg — “Remembering Ovadia Yosef, the Israeli Ayatollah” by Jeffrey Goldberg.

The compilation reflects 2013 concerns: Iran nuclear brinkmanship, Egypt’s post-Morsi fracture, regional leadership failures, and Israeli religious-political dynamics. The specific part of the document in concern here is:

Over 700,000 attended Rabbi Ovadia Yosef’s funeral in Jerusalem (largest ever), honoring his scholarship, Shas party leadership, and uplift of Mizrachi (Sephardi/Middle Eastern) Jews.

Yosef (Baghdad-born, Cairo rabbi) was a political kingmaker and issued a ruling permitting territorial concessions for saving lives. However, Goldberg criticizes Yosef as a mean-spirited fundamentalist who coarsened politics, promoted a vindictive God, and issued prejudiced statements on race, religion, and politics.

Epstein examples blamed Holocaust victims’ ancestors’ sins, gay people as “completely evil,” secular soldiers’ deaths on irreligiosity.

He cursed politicians (e.g., wished death on Sharon, called Jewish Home party “gentiles”), held contempt for gentiles (“born only to serve us”), called Muslims “stupid,” and urged plague on Palestinians/Abbas.

Defenders cite context (upbringing, late-life outbursts) and good works (e.g., war widows), but Goldberg equates his prejudice to that of figures like Khamenei or Qaradawi. Yosef’s power stemmed from his constituency; leaders like Abbas, Peres, and Netanyahu sent condolences accordingly.

Download EFTA01951982.pdf here to view it in full.