Israel’s Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef has called Foreign Minister Shimon Peres a "jumping monkey" and Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer a "fat dancing bear," reported the Army Radio on Wednesday.
In his lone favorable comparison, Rabbi Ovadia referred to Shas Interior Minister Eli Yishai as a lion (aryeh in Hebrew), an allusion also to jailed ex-Shas chief Aryeh Deri, said the radio, cited by Haaretz newspaper.
Deri is currently in jail facing corruption charges. His arrest triggered wide criticism by Shas members and many Israelis.
In a sermon Tuesday night, Yosef spun a fable with political overtones, telling followers of a king whose son suffered from depression, and of the king's advisor, "the beloved Aryeh."
"The lion came unto the king, advising him: 'So that your son may get out of his depression we will make a feast of singing and dancing, and all of your ministers will clothe himself with the skin of an animal, dance before the king's son and make a fool of himself, so that he will sing and be healed of his depression.
"And thus it was. In the course of the feast the king presented those who were dancing before him. 'Behold, you see that fat bear, how he dances that way, like a bear - this is the Minister of Defense. And this one who looks like a lion, this is the Minister of the Interior - he, in fact, loves you. And this one who dressed as a monkey, this is our Foreign Minister, who jumps like a monkey, from here to there, from [Palestinian President Yasser] Arafat to what's-his-name. All these are dancing in order to gladden you."
In past years, Yosef referred to former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a "blind she-goat," to former prime minister Ehud Barak as a "blind fox."
Last month Yosef said in a sermon ahead of the weekend Passover holiday that God must annihilate the Arabs and rain missiles down on them.
In the course of a discussion of the historical enemies of the Jews, and pleas to God to defeat them, Rabbi Yosef said of Israel's Arab foes that "it is forbidden to be merciful to them, you must give them missiles, with relish - annihilate them. Evil ones, damnable ones."
But a spokesman of Yosef said at that time that the rabbi meant only “terrorist Arabs.” Yosef himself retracted the statements days later.
"Only a dummy could conceive that the rabbi intended harm to innocents or attacking them with missiles," said the spokeman – Albawaba.com
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