The Chief Rabbi of Israel Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef attacked the staff of the Eretz Nehederet (Wonderful Country) satire television program on Thursday. Eretz Nehederet, broadcast on Israel's Channel 12, is a popular satirical Israeli television show similar to the American Saturday Night Live.
The Chief Rabbi's attack followed a featured skit on Wednesday throwing barbs at Interior Minister MK Aryeh Deri (Shas) as taking advantage of the memory of the late spiritual leader of the Shas movement, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, in order to win votes for his Shas party.
"As a Jew, as the Chief Rabbi, as his son, as a human being, I'm utterly ashamed in the face of the mockery, disgrace and disrespect that was broadcast yesterday against my father of blessed memory," Rabbi Yosef said.
"Rabbi Ovadia Yosef was one of the greatest rabbis of the generation in Torah, love for the Jewish people and the establishment of Jewish educational institutions for the children of Israel," Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef added.
"This is not a 'wonderful country,' said the Chief Rabbi, "it's a country that's consuming its inhabitants and rabbis, whose education has gone bankrupt."
"Someone who disgraces Torah scholars will have no cure for his illness. And the sin of someone who disgraces the honor of the dead is too great to bear. Each and every person who participated in this will be judged in Heaven," Rabbi Yosef ruled.
"Each one of us is obligated to protest against the honor of the Torah that was disgraced and trampled," Rabbi Yosef concluded.