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Party: Shas

Knesset Profile: N/A

An Iraqi-born Haredi Jewish rabbi, Ovadia Yosef is considered one of Israel's top authorities in religious law. In 1984, he founded the religious Shas party, and has acquired prominence in more than two decades as its spiritual leader.

Although he plays no formal role in politics and has never served in the Knesset, Yosef is the most influential member of the party and is responsible for formulating Shas' position on most issues.

Yosef has frequently spoken in support of negotiations with the Palestinians, ruling that saving Jewish lives is more important than holding onto additional territory. Yet, he has also been known to make several controversial statements regarding Palestinians - and has even been accused by the Israeli and international media of inciting racial hatred.

In 2000, he instructed Shas to leave Ehud Barak's coalition government in protest at the then-Prime Minister's participation in peace negotiations with the Palestinians, while publicly referring to Arabs as "snakes" who could not be trusted. In a fiery April 2001 sermon, he called for the annihilation of Arabs, describing them as "evil and damnable."

Yosef is also opposed to granting Palestinians sovereignty over any part of Jerusalem, and Shas has made clear that its entry into any governing coalition would be dependent on a pledge to freeze any negotiations over the status of the city.

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