August 30, 2012

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, spiritual head of the haredi Orthodox Shas Party, reportedly remains opposed to an Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Israel’s Channel 10 reported Wednesday night that Yosef said he will oppose any unilateral Israeli attack on Iran. The report was verified by other news outlets with unnamed political sources.

“He believes the price would be too high, and for an action that may not achieve its goal,” the Reuters news service quoted an anonymous source briefed on Shas party internal discussions.

Earlier this month Yosef was briefed on the threat from Iran by the head of Israel’s National Security Council, Maj.-Gen. Yaakov Amidror. The meeting reportedly was part of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s efforts to obtain support from government ministers for an Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Shas Chairman Eli Yishai, who is a member of the nine-minister security Cabinet, reportedly opposes such a strike. Other Shas Cabinet members would likely follow Yosef’s opinion on the matter as well.

In his weekly Saturday night sermon last week, Yosef called on Jews to pray on Rosh Hashanah for the destruction of Iran and Hezbollah.

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