Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef
Rabbi Yitzhak YosefShlomi Cohen

Chief Sephardic Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef has released a clarification to the Saturday night lecture in which he said that non-Jews are forbidden from living in the Land of Israel.

The statement reads: "During his weekly lecture, the Rishon Lezion, the Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, commented on the laws of selling hametz during Passover. He explained the halachic concept of ger toshav (resident non-Jew) according to the Rambam.

"These instructions are theoretical and deal with upholding the seven Noahide Laws during the time of the Messiah. They have no connection to our current time. It's clear that there is no rule today to deport those who aren't Jewish from the Land of Israel.

"The honorable Rishon Lezion has always held a conciliatory manner and he would not present such an extreme stance. He is one of the few who declared it is forbidden to kill a neutralized terrorist and that the terrorist must be handed over to the authorities.

"The Torah of Israel is a Torah of life and encourages peace and tolerance. We are saddened that there are those in the media who choose to distort the issue, to remove it from it context and to present it in a negative light."