Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef said non-Jews who fail to live by the seven Noahide laws should be expelled from Israel. (Photo: Creative Commons)

Nadine Osman

Israel’s Chief Rabbi has sparked controversy after saying non-Jews should be barred from living in Israel unless they follow a set of Jewish laws and those who abide should be allowed to remain only to serve Jews.

Sephardic Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef said non-Jews who fail to live by the seven Noahide laws should be expelled to Saudi Arabia, The Times of Israel reported.

Speaking in a sermon on March 26, the Yosef said: “If our hands were firm, if we had the power to rule, then non-Jews must not live in Israel.”

“If a gentile does not agree to take on the seven Noahide Laws, we should send him to Saudi Arabia.” Yosef added that non-Jews abide by the laws will be allowed to remain in Israel to serve Jews. “Who, otherwise be the servants? Who will be our helpers? This is why we leave them in Israel,” he said.

His comments have been slammed by the human rights agency Anti-Defamation League, who have called on him to retract the statements.

Jonathon Greenblatt, ADL’s CEO, and Carole Nuriel, acting Director of ADL’s Israel Office, branded Yosef’s comments were “shocking and unacceptable.”

“It is unconscionable that the Chief Rabbi, an official representative of the State of Israel, would express such intolerant and ignorant views about Israel’s non-Jewish population –including the millions of non-Jewish citizens.”

“As a spiritual leader, Rabbi Yosef should be using his influence to preach tolerance and compassion towards others, regardless of their faith, and not seek to exclude and demean a large segment of Israelis.”