‘They Have No Rights’: Israel’s Chief Rabbi Denies the Existence of Palestinian People, Prays to his God [the government] for Their Destruction

Israel’s Sephardi Chief Rabbi David Yosef declared that “there is no such thing as a Palestinian people” and that Palestinians “have no rights.”

• Yosef claimed Gaza and cities in the occupied West Bank are for Jews and called for the destruction of Gaza and the establishment of Jewish settlements.

• The remarks drew condemnation over their denial of Palestinian identity and rights and their dehumanizing implications amid Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

‘No Such Thing as a Palestinian People’

Israel’s Sephardi Chief Rabbi David Yosef denied the existence of Palestinians as a people and declared that they “have no rights” during an address at the Gush Katif Museum in West Jerusalem.

“There is no such thing as a Palestinian people and they have no rights,” Yosef reportedly said.

According to reports of the speech, the chief rabbi went further, laying Jewish claim to the Gaza Strip and cities throughout the occupied West Bank.

Yosef also called for the destruction of Gaza and the establishment of Jewish settlements in the Palestinian enclave.

His remarks came amid growing calls from senior Israeli officials and far-right political and religious figures for the re-establishment of settlements in Gaza and the displacement of its Palestinian population. [MORE]