Shas Spiritual Leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef Dies

Local Editor

The "Israeli" Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, 93, passed away Monday afternoon after battling illness for the last several weeks.

The spiritual leader of the influential -Sephardic Shas movement, suffered a general collapse of his bodily systems earlier on Monday morning and was in immediate danger of death at Hadassah University Medical Center for several hours prior to his death.

Medical officials elected to place Yosef on life support after he began to experience breathing difficulties early on Monday. He was defined as being in critical condition as doctors worked to stabilize his condition.
"Given his illnesses and his age, the rabbi's life is in danger," Professor Dan Gilon, who heads the hospital's echocardiography unit, told Army Radio.

"Throughout his hospitalization, the rabbi had a tendency to come down with infections of different sorts," the professor said.

"At first, he was admitted because of an infection, and we treated it effectively, but the ups and downs are due to the fact that this is a man at an advanced age, and he is being treated through all sorts of methods, like dialysis."
Yosef was well known for his sharp tongue, and his expressions triggered public outrage on more than one occasion. Among other things, he called the Arabs "venomous snakes."

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team