Religious Freedom Group Seeks To Ban Broadcasts Of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef’s Torah Classes

Hiddush reportedly labeled the Torah lessons by Yosef – Shas’s founder and spiritual leader – campaign advertising and proposed recording the lessons and broadcasting them after all the campaign content had been removed, apparently as an option to be considered instead of a complete ban.

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef

Religious Freedom Groups Seeks To Ban Broadcasts Of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef’s Torah Classes
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com

Earlier today, Hiddush – the Israeli nonprofit that lobbies on issues related to freedom of and from religion – asked the chairman of Israel’s Elections Committee, Justice Eliyakim Rubinstein, to issue an injunction against Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the Sefardi haredi Shas party, Shas’ radio station Kol Barama, and Israel’s Second Television and Radio Authority to block broadcasts of Yosef’s Torah lessons on Kol Barama (or any on any other media outlet) until after Israel’s national elections are held later this month, Arutz Sheva reported.

Hiddush reportedly labeled the Torah lessons by Yosef – Shas’s founder and spiritual leader – campaign advertising and proposed recording the lessons and broadcasting them after all the campaign content had been removed, apparently as an option to be considered instead of a complete ban.

Yosef used part of his weekly Saturday night lecture last week to attack Rabbi Amnon Yitzhak for forming a political party to compete with Shas and warned voters that it was forbidden to vote for it.

”Such a party represents merit [acquired] through transgression,” Yosef reportedly said. “How dare they oppose our well-established party which has decades of experience and the support of Torah authorities?”

Related Post: Shas Seps Up Attacks On Rabbi Amnon Yitzhak.

Comments

[Avi]

Religious Freedom Groups Seeks To Ban Broadcasts Of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef’s Torah Classes

I assume this means that Israel has no concept of freedom of speech. Amazing to want to ban torah class lectures as well! In Israel yet!!

[Garnel Ironheart]

Ah yes, the usual liberal refrain: you have freedom of opinion, as long as it's our opinion you have.

[Gevezener Chusid]

If Ashkenazi rabbis wanted to ban Yosef's speeches it would be called racism.

[Atheodox Jew]

It's not as if the concern has no reasonable precedent. See e.g.:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equal-time_rule

[Rocky]

Rabbis and preachers ought to stay out of politics. Separation of church and state has worked pretty well in the US in the past 200+ years and certainly has worked well for the Jews. As Israel moves increasingly to becoming a theocratic state, it is sowing the seeds of its own distruction. The Yeshiva boys with their state subsidies don't even want to defend their own country.

[Maskil]

I assume this means that Israel has no concept of freedom of speech. Amazing to want to ban torah class lectures as well! In Israel yet!!

Posted by: Avi | January 10, 2013 at 12:49 PM

Uri Regev, Chief Rabbi of Hiddush, is Israeli, and even the Reform Ordination can't take that out of him. He's an angry, Reform Israeli who's really struggling to work with this whole "liberty" idea of democracy ... but he's still not quite getting it.

[Joel Katz]

According to http://www.theyeshivaworld.com on Jan. 13, 2013:

"Shas officials decided that the shiur would not be broadcast until following the elections as a result of Hiddush’s petition.

This past motzei Shabbos, the Shiur was given by Rav Yitzchak Yosef, the Bal Yalkut Yosef, as Rav Ovadia was hospitalized in Hadassah Medical Center."