Mark Gold of the Jewish Press Asks Whether Rabbi Ovadia is the Only Jewish Leader who Reads the Jewish Prayer Books

Mark Gold writes:

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef's ill wishes toward Israel's Palestinian Arab enemies, including the Palestinian Authority and its Holocaust-denier president, elicited disdain and disavowals from much of the leadership of Israel and the Jewish world.

Rabbi Ovadia's "words do not reflect the approach of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, nor the position of the government of Israel," the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.

The Rabbinical Assembly, the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, the Jewish Theological Assembly and related groups said, "As leaders of the Conservative/Masorti movement, we deplore these recent comments of former Chief Sephardic Rabbi Ovadia Yosef."

ADL National Director Abe Foxman said, "We are outraged by the offensive and incendiary comments made by Rav Ovadia Yosef." And the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations added, "We are disturbed by the reported comments of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef."

Why these entities and eminences have reacted this way is an interesting question - even putting aside the paternalistic attitude of superiority so commonly used to justify ignoring the constant barrage of hate and incitement to genocide emanating from many of Israel enemies. And that vitriol is not voiced by individuals but promulgated by governments and leaders, including Israel's purported "partners for peace."

I was gratified to learn I am not the only one who found the situation peculiar. In a letter published on the Jerusalem Post's website, Chana Pinto accurately and articulately pointed out that in our prayers, Jews beseech God to defeat our enemies. For example, the Amida includes "Frustrate the hopes of those who malign us" and "Let all your enemies be speedily destroyed."

So is Rabbi Ovadia Yosef the only prominent Jew who reads the prayer book? Can Jewish leaders be fairly likened to America's legislators who now routinely pass multi-thousand page bills without reading them or knowing what is in them, much less understanding and reflecting on their implications?

Or is it that other Jewish leaders are aware of their prayers but Rabbi Yosef is the only one who means it when he says them? If they are so offended by their own prayers, they should change them. If Obama and his Democrats can ram through their unwanted legislation, perhaps these Jewish leaders can change the prayers to be more consonant with their political and worldly sensibilities

(Read the whole piece here.)