Israel – Shas’s Council of Torah Sages member Rabbi Shalom Cohen in a sermon Saturday made degrading remarks against the religious Zionist sector by questioning their Jewishness and referring to them as “Amalek” – a biblical tribe hostile to the ancient Israelites.
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Cohen, dean of the Porat Yosef Yeshiva, was seen in a video on the haredi website Kikar Hashabat as saying, “the Throne [of God] is not complete as long as there are Amalek, ..when will the Throne be complete? When there are no more [religious Zionists].”
Bayit Yehudi Chairman and Religious Services Minister Naftali Bennett on Sunday blasted Cohen for his remarks.
Bennett called on Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, who was seated next to Cohen during the sermon, to condemn the “incitement campaign against the [religious Zionists] before it is too late”.
“At this time, thousands of [religious Zionists] can be found from the Syrian border to the Egyptian border, from the highest level of command [in the army] to the last soldier, spilling their blood to defend [the country], and the honor of the rabbi.”
Content is provided courtesy of the Jerusalem Post
What goes on with the sfardim now they started to talk very not appropriate last week about Ashkenazim not goin in shower in 9 days now this guy
VIN, it seems that your headline writer hasn’t opened a chumash lately. On last reading, it dooms Amalek not to abolition but to genocide. Sounds grim, but after all, MK Cohen’s master has reduced slurs like these to common coin.
Have an easy fast.
Since when is religious Zionists and modern orthodox the same thing?
does modern orthodox put the interests of the medinah as superior to all Mitzvot in the Torah the same way Religious Zionists do?
Kol haposel bemumo posel
This is a Out right loshan hora
On acainu beni Yisroal
I do think the cofezt Chaim
Would talk like that ? ESP on frum people who are shomer Shabbat and put on tharas hamshpacha
Over Kamtza and Bar Kamtza Yerushalayim was destroyed….Said Bar Kamtza: Since the Sages sat and did not restrain him, it may be inferred that they are satisfied…
[Crying]
Last week the sfardim were busy with the showers now they busy with this ..they are unreal
sick. they always talk harsh about other jews that have the same part of g-dlyness like they do [I think]. like they don’t sin p.s I belive it says somewhere in the holy books that people who talk like this there torah means nothing
Talk about Sinchas Chinom on the 9 Days!!!!
Shame, shame, shame on you, so-called ‘rabbi’
Shame!!!!
It sounds like he was quoted out of context. He really was trying to say something stupid but it came out idiotic.
” Shas’s Council of Torah Sages member Rabbi Shalom Cohen in a sermon Saturday ….”
He said it on shabbos & someone recorded it? SKUTZIM!!!!
Good Morning
Are all the Rabbonim coming back to Shitas Satmar?? Impressive!!!!
Is this really much different than what ashknazi really feel.
Nebech, the poor ruv is showing signs of DEMENTIA!
Nebech, nebech, how IRONIC during the nine days we are seeing firsthand why the Beis Hamikdash was destroyed. This so called rabbi is so full of hate and venom against his fellow Jew and is so FABESIN, he is a disgrace to the title rabbi. So he would rather live under Arab rule? Let’s see how long it would take for his wife and daughters to be raped and for he himself to be shected by the Arabs, such insanity.
To all those who don’t like Rav Cohen’s words
There are 3 words to describe their feelings.
THE TRUTH HURTS!
It used to be that a Rav could disagree or condemn something without calling it “Amalek ” or “Nazi”. Even Bavel and Rome are typically differentiated from Amalek notwithstanding that we are about to mourn the two Temples that they destroyed.
Maybe they can make a list of what isn’t Amalek and who isn’t a Nazi. Also, if he is advocating the murder of religious Zionists, does that make him a Rodef?
Time for the Religious Zionists to STOP donating to this character’s yeshiva as well as all the others that agree with him.
I am impressed by the restraint displayed by the mizrachi. I wonder what the reaction of the charadim would be if the situation were reversed and it was the mizrachi calling the Sphardim Amalek and their talmidai chachimum rashaim. For some reason I suspect there would be uncondemned “extremist” violence against the mizrachi.
Al eyla ani bocheach!
Read the chapters on Menachem Begin, zl, in THE PRIME MINISTERS (by Yehuda Avner), or even some of the chapters on the other prime ministers. Begin met with Rav Soloveitchik ztl, the Lubavitcher Rebbe ztl, etc, and was religious. How about the 40% of IDF officers who are dati leumi (religous Zionists)? Unless he was quoted out of context, this rabbi should be condemned, publicly, by every gadol b’Torah.
What else is new?
R’ shach said the same thing for years.
Rabbi Ruderman zl was a member of RZA .
The sefardim took the mantle of the holy chasam sofer these days to attack so-called reform and reform-wannabe mizrachi.
Shas should never be in another government again. These people are sick. Even Erev T’ B’Av means nothing to them. Such sinah is beyond the pale. They are not Torah Jews. No Torah Jew could call another Jew “Goyim” and “Amalek.”
I no longer recognize the Yehadus of these rabbis with their hate speech. It seems like they don’t really care about the nine days and its lessons. Preach one thing and do exactly the opposite. We are in need of a true leader in Torah and ahavas Yisroel.
He got it wrong. Charedism is what needs to be abolished.
Thank you Rabbi Cohen and Rav Ovadia Yosef for cursing Torah observant Jews, thus giving us renewed hope that Mashiach is imminent. You are fulfilling the prophecy in Sotah 49b:
“In the period which will precede the coming of Moshiach, insolence will increase, and costs will soar…..the WISDOM of SCRIBES WILL DECAY….. AND TRUTH WILL BE ABSENT”
The fact that Torah scholars such as Rav Yosef and Rabbi Cohen can call a population which is moser nefesh for Torah, Am Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael “Amalek” shows that Mashiach must be here!
Since when did Sefardic rabbis start dressing up like Lithuanian rabbonim??
These people are showing more and more how they are clearly a new and separate religion and do not share the sames good morals and values that the rest of us do.
The MO are not only going along with the secular they are actually leading the fight against the torah world first by cutting the yeshiva budget over 60% then by legitmizing the reform and conservative movments and so on and even in the good old USA who’s leading the war against metzitza bpa ? that’s right the MO.
What good is if they defend the borders but inside at war with the torah.
While I personaly would not use the amolek word I could see why some would.
Never in my wildest dream did I expect the MO to be at the forefront of our enemy’s and now I understand the foresight of our gedolim of the prior generations who never trusted the mizrachi movement at least now they are showing their true colors.
I agree with # 15 and 24. Why does he have to speak lashon hara during the 9 days? Who does he think he is?? This hatred and venom must stop!!
I know Rabbi Cohen well. He is a gentle peace loving man who appreciates every Yid as if he were a son. However he is a man who only ever speaks the truth . Bennett you and your like are trying to destroy the Torah yishuv in Eretz Yisroel. Clearly hearing the truth hurts you.
hard to believe on shabbos chazon when we should remember the result of sinus chenom when will we learn
with all due respect to Rav Cohen, he lives in the Old City, how does he think he has the ability to do that? It is because in 1967, soldiers with Kipot Zrugot and the Zionist government fought for his right to live there and still are, unbelievable to read this.
Boruch Hashem that someone has the strength to say the Emes……………..DOWN WITH AMOLAKE AND ZIONISN
Ultimately, this fine rabbi has just lost his crown in the heavens by attacking Israel. By gosh, where do all the good rabbis go?
The more I think about this statement (if G-d forbid it is accurate), the more depressed I get. Eruv Tisha B’Av, it is K’Halacha to say that well intentioned Jews who keep Shabbos, Tefila, Kashrus, Tzedakah, Taharus, Lemud Torah, Gemilas Chasadim and hundreds of other mitzvos are Amalek? People who are moser nefesh for the klal not only themselves but their children?
The part that is hardest to accept is that there does not seem to be any way to change opinions and that the majority of “Religious” Jews seem heading in this direction. Would another Churban, G-d forbid a million times, be needed for all to understand that this is Sinas Chinum and needs to be corrected?
Disgusting hypocrisy during Nine Days. The vast majority of Charedim are lovely kind people who should be embarrassed by this “gadol”.
Any Jew, especially a respected rabbi, who makes a public proclamation describing fellow Jews as Amalek, has sunk below the bar in every way – intellectually, in integrity, in decency, in lomdus, in ahavas Yisrael, in perspective, in kedusha. We desperatly need Mashiach, before we sink to the lowest rung of the 49 rungs of tumah brought about by Sinas Chinam, of baseless hatred beyond the pale of redemption,
Clear, unambiguous calls for mass murder. This terrorist and his followers need to be jailed or expelled, their homes demolished and any of their followers who commit terroristic violence shot down like the dogs they are
The fact is the MO as well as so called religious zionists are watered down judaism. They r brainwashed by the secular world and are not the real future of Torah Judaism. All gedolim are from chassidic or yeshivash camps not the knitted kipas crowd. Why?
Not a bad point. We can use another day of Purim around here. Anyone one for some hamantashen?
This man – he doesn’t deserve the title “rabbi” – is a soneh Yisroel. Like the Roman emperor Hadrian, all his learning was done in order to torment the Jewish people.
This makes me feel better about myself. I might have overslept and not made it to shacharit this morning, but I am pretty certain that HaShem is more concerned with this guy.
Wait til he claims he was misquoted. Always misquoted.
Hateful speeches produce hateful responses, which produce even more hateful responses. Just look at these comments.