Rabbi David Lankry, rabbi of the Shemesh U’Magen synagogue in Kochav Yaakov, issued a fierce response on Monday to Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef’s recent remarks against Rabbi Tamir Granot, head of the Orot Shaul Hesder Yeshiva.
In a sharply worded statement, Rabbi Lankry denounced the former Chief Rabbi and condemned what he described as a consistent pattern of attacks against the Religious Zionist community and particularly IDF soldiers.
“When you see a systematic trend - time after time - of humiliating the community that enlists in the army, that believes in the path of Torah and work, that believes in peace - to the point that Rabbi Shalom Cohen, of blessed memory, said about us ‘the knitted kippah wearers are Amalek’… I can’t understand why and how long we’re expected to tolerate Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef’s hateful words toward the Zionist community,” he said.
Rabbi Lankry expressed shock at Rabbi Yosef’s statement that he would not include Rabbi Granot in a prayer quorum (minyan): “How can you speak about a Rosh Yeshiva and question whether he’s even a rabbi? That’s not just an insult to a person - it’s an insult to an entire community. This isn’t the first time - time after time he insults a whole segment of the nation.”
According to Lankry, the remarks constitute a grave offense to the honor of the Torah and an entire public: “The Gemara says: ‘In a place where there is a desecration of God’s name, no honor is given to a rabbi.’ You’re talking about a bereaved father who lost his son in the army. It’s fine to disagree in halakha or in worldview, but to say he can’t be counted for a minyan, to call him a heretic? To say that those who serve in the army are heretics? That’s madness.”
He went on to emphasize that this was a severe desecration of God’s name: “There’s a great desecration of God’s name here. His words deserve condemnation. It cannot be that again and again an entire public is humiliated.”
Rabbi Lankry revealed that he took a personal step following the remarks: “I personally removed his books from my home. Whoever wants to continue studying his books - fine. My advice: remove his books from your home and from the synagogue.”
In closing, Rabbi Lankry shared a personal memory of the late Rabbi Ovadia Yosef: “I saw him cry while blessing IDF soldiers. How can one speak that way about people whose shirts are still torn from mourning, and say I won’t include them in a minyan? This is a great desecration of God’s name. Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef’s words deserve condemnation.”