The United States joined those criticizing the spiritual leader of Israel’s fervently Orthodox Shas Party, who was quoted as saying earlier this week that Arabs “must be shelled with missiles.” A U.S. State Department spokesman, Philip Reeker, said he was unaware of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef’s comments, but added, “We don’t think remarks like that help the situation.” Shas officials say Yosef was quoted out of context and that he was referring to Arab terrorists, not all Arabs.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
