Chief Rabbi: Gentiles forbidden to live in Israel

Israel’s Chief Sephardic Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef told listeners during his weekly Torah class that according to halakha (Jewish religious law) gentiles are forbidden to live in Israel except under special circumstances.

Rabbi Yosef argued that only a Ger Toashav, a gentile who take upon themselves the Seven Noahide Laws, can live in Israel.

“If a goy (gentile) is not prepared to accept the Seven Noahide Laws – one of which is to not commit murder – he should be sent to Saudi Arabia.”

“If we were resolute and had all of the control, the gentile would not live in Israel. However, we are not resolute and we wait for the Messiah and complete redemption for this to happen. Who will be our helpers? They will be. This is why we keep the Ger Toashav in Israel,” said the Rishon LeZion.

Avishai Ben-Chaim, an Israeli journalist, told Channel 10, “We can see the duality in attitudes and discussion with Shas rabbis – on one hand, very harsh words against gentiles and against Arabs but on the other hand, protectiveness of the nation.”

Ben-Chaim further noted that although Rabbi Yosef said two weeks ago that it was that it was a mitzvah to kill terrorists, on the other hand he ruled that once a terrorist has been neutralized and disarmed, the terrorist shouldn’t be killed on the spot and rather must be imprisoned for life.