Sephardic Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef said yesterday that although he had advised Premier Yitzhak Rabin that according to halacha the release of imprisoned terrorists in exchange for the hostages in Uganda was permissible, the Israeli operation which resulted in freeing the hostages by force of arms was an even better solution according to halacha.
Speaking at the opening session of the 19th convention of Torah Sh’Bal Peh (the Oral Law-Talmud) at the Rabbi Kook Institute in Jerusalem, Yosef revealed that he had sent Rabin a written opinion, based entirely on halachic grounds, two days before the Entebbe operation, in which he permitted releasing the terrorists in return for the hostages.
He said Rabin asked for his opinion following the growing pressure from relatives of the hostages demanding that Israel meet the demands of the terrorists who hijacked the Air France plane to Uganda.
Religious Affairs Minister Yitzhak Raphael urged the public to use the rabbinical courts not only for personal issues but in all civil matters in which the courts could serve as a mediator between conflicting parties.
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