Sephardi chief rabbi demands Pope Francis retract suggestion that Gaza war may be genocide

Sephardi Chief Rabbi David Yosef blasts Pope Francis’s suggestion that Israel might be committing genocide in Gaza, saying the pontiff is taking the side of murderers and not the victims.

“It’s very interesting that the Pope doesn’t call for an investigation of the terrible slaughter of Jews last year on October 7,” says Yosef in a video statement. “It’s interesting that he doesn’t call for an investigation of the incitement against Jews across Europe, overt antisemitic incitement.”

“According to some experts, what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide,” Pope Francis says in his forthcoming book “Hope Never Disappoints.” “It should be carefully investigated to determine whether it fits into the technical definition formulated by jurists and international bodies.”

Yosef calls on Francis to retract his statement and apologize.