Senior Israeli Sephardic Rabbi, Yitzhak Yosef calls Afro-Americans ‘Monkeys’

Israel’s chief Rabbi, Yitzhak Yosef, has stoked controversy by describing Afro-Americans as “monkeys” during one of his weekly religious lessons.

The remark, which will prompt further discussion about entrenched racism within the Zionist country, was reported by Israeli newspaper Ynet News.

Yosef, whose status as chief rabbi is constitutionally recognized, is no stranger to inflammatory remarks having previously issued a “religious edict” encouraging the killing of Palestinians armed with a knife.

While Yosef’s incitement of violence against Palestinians may have been overlooked his description of Afro-Americans as “monkeys” has drawn wide attention.

Yosef made the remarks as he cited a hypothetical story about encountering a black person in the USA.

He referred to black people using the pejorative Hebrew word “kushi”, which refers to a dark-skinned person usually of African descent, and called a black person a “monkey”.

“We don’t say a blessing for every negro,” said Yosef while explaining that praise and blessing is only said for the “negro” whose father and mother are white.

“If you know, they had a monkey for a son, they had a son like that,” blessing shouldn’t be offered to them, he explained.

Middle East Monitor / ABC Flash Point News 2019.