Jump to content

Yosef Mizrachi

Page semi-protected
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from DivineInformation)

Rabbi
Yosef Mizrachi
יוסף מזרחי
Personal life
Born1968 (age 57–58)
Bat Yam, Israel
OccupationPublic speaker
Websitewww.divineinformation.com
Religious life
ReligionJudaism
DenominationHaredi
Jewish leader
ResidenceMonsey, New York

Yosef Mizrachi (Hebrew: יוסף מזרחי; born 1968) is an Israeli-American Haredi rabbi and public speaker.[1] Described as a prominent Kiruv rabbi,[2] Mizrachi's outspokenness on certain issues has led to his widespread denunciation and characterization as misguided by leading Orthodox Jewish authorities.[3][4]

Biography

Yosef Mizrachi was born in Israel to a secular Persian-Jewish family and raised in Bat Yam.[5] After completing his military service in the Israeli Air Force, he moved to New York in his twenties to work in finance.[3][5] In 1997, he began learning and later teaching Torah at the Ohr Yisrael Yeshiva in Monsey, New York, and later producing kiruv (Orthodox Judaism outreach) videos[6] that began appearing online in 2004.[3][7] He was an early adopter of social media for Orthodox Jewish outreach, aimed especially at non-religious audiences.[2]

Mizrachi is a resident of Monsey, New York.[8]

Controversies and condemnation

In early 2014, before a lecture tour in London, concern was expressed about statements by Mizrachi in his previous lectures relating to the behaviour of secular and religious Jews during the Holocaust suggesting that Down syndrome and autism are "punishments for sins committed in a previous life", among others. Mizrachi responded saying he was taken out of context and he would never disrespect people with disabilities. As a result, at least one of his planned lectures in London was initially cancelled.[9]

Mizrachi has claimed that Jews helped bring about the Holocaust by assimilating.[10] In December 2015, in one of his lectures, Mizrachi claimed that it is possible that only one million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust as opposed to the well accepted figure of 6 million, since many of them were not Jewish according to Jewish law which requires a person's mother to be Jewish.[11] He was criticized by academics and Jewish leaders including Efraim Zuroff, director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, who said that he "made up history to suit an agenda."[12] Later Mizrachi issued an apology.[11]

In 2016, UK Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis spoke out against the plans of this "Jewish hate preacher" to visit Britain.[13] Mizrachi has been barred from entering the UK by the Home Office.[1] In December, 16 prominent US rabbis issued an open letter about Mizrachi, saying that he "reduce[s] complex issues to simplistic and misleading sound bites," and that his assertions are "objectionable, and even dangerous."[14] The letter continued that institutions should be more "discerning" with the guests they invite.

Following the October 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, Mizrachi repeated a false rumor that the attack occurred during a bris for the child of a same-sex couple, asserting that the congregation's conduct brought about the massacre.[15]

In March 2019, a planned visit by Mizrachi to the UK was canceled following reports that the Home Office was considering a ban on account of his track record of spreading hatred and extremism.[16][17][18] Mizrachi went on to blame Mirvis—referring to him as "the number one most wicked person in the whole world", along with senior Sephardi rabbi Joseph Dweck, claiming that they are "the two friends, gay lovers, who do everything they can to promote homosexuality and destroy the Jewish nation from inside, destroy the Jewish community in England... he's going to bring a Holocaust on the Jews in England."[19][20]

In April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Mizrachi claimed that blowing hot air from a hair dryer into the throat was a cure for coronavirus. He recommended this treatment five times a day for two days for confirmed cases, and twice a day for suspected cases.[21][22]

In July 2020, a video from Mizrachi calling 14 prominent rabbis infidels was removed from social media platforms and prompted calls to have his videos removed more broadly from Jewish sites such as Torah Anytime for fear that it will incite violence. Natan Slifkin, one of the rabbis threatened in the video said, "We need to protest this hateful, potentially violence-inciting rhetoric."[3]

In December 2022, former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett filed a defamation lawsuit against Mizrachi after Mizrachi claimed in lectures that Bennett's mother was not Jewish according to Halakha.[23] In September 2023, the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court ruled against Mizrachi, ordering him to pay compensation to Bennett and publish an apology and retraction on his YouTube channel.[24]

In March 2026, a clip from a lecture by Mizrachi gained attention after it was featured by political commentator Tucker Carlson. In the video, Mizrachi suggested that an attack on the Al-Aqsa Mosque could be blamed on Iran to clear the site for the Third Temple.[25] Mizrachi responded that his comments were taken out of context and that he does not support destroying the mosque through military action.[26]

Works

  • Mizrachi, Yosef (2022). Divine Information: Your Ticket to Eternal Life. ISBN 979-8-4479-7532-6.
  • Mizrachi, Yosef (2019). Preparation for Eternal Life: The Truth of the Holy Torah, Judaism, Ethics and Repentance. HaKeter Institute. ISBN 979-8-4955-4424-6.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Weich, Ben (March 13, 2019). "Controversial US rabbi Yosef Mizrachi 'barred from entering UK'". The Jewish Chronicle. Archived from the original on October 30, 2020. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  2. 1 2 Rosenberg, David. "War of the 'Kiruv' Rabbis Escalates". Israel National News. Arutz Sheva Media Group. Archived from the original on 23 July 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Chizhik-Goldschmidt, Avital (29 July 2020). "Alarmed By 'Death Threat' Video, Orthodox Jews Try To De-platform Fiery 'Folk Preachers'". Forward. Archived from the original on 31 July 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  4. ↑ Boteach, Shmuley. "No Holds Barred: Does God Watch When Jews Die?". The Jerusalem Post. ISSN 0792-822X. Archived from the original on 28 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  5. 1 2 Sarafraz, Beth (26 May 2017). "The Saga Of Rabbi Yosef Mizrachi". The Jewish Press. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
  6. ↑ Wootliff, Raoul (31 December 2015). "NY rabbi: 'Not even 1 million' Jews killed in Holocaust". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  7. ↑ "Rabbi Yossi Mizrachi". torahanytime.com.
  8. ↑ "Rabbi's Bio". Archived from the original on 2024-02-28. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  9. ↑ Rocker, Simon (24 January 2014). "Synagogue cancels talk by 'Down's Syndrome is a punishment' rabbi". The Jewish Chronicle. Archived from the original on 12 August 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  10. ↑ Rocker, Simon (7 March 2019). "Manchester school cancels talk by rabbi who implicated Jews in the Holocaust". The Jewish Chronicle. Archived from the original on 15 August 2022. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  11. 1 2 Sharon, Jeremy (4 January 2016). "Rabbi Apologizes for Challenging Number of Jews Killed in Holocaust". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 7 July 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  12. ↑ "Orthodox rabbi: Only one million Jews killed in Holocaust". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 2015-12-31. Retrieved 2015-12-31.
  13. ↑ Kolirin, Lianne (9 September 2016). "Rabble-rousing rabbi is not welcome here, say Jews". The Times. Archived from the original on 12 August 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  14. ↑ Chizhik-Goldschmidt, Avital (8 December 2016). "U.S. Orthodox Leaders: Rabbi Who Said Fewer Than 1 Million Jews Died in Holocaust Is 'Dangerous'". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 7 December 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  15. ↑ "VIN Exclusive: Fake News, Says Tree Of Life Rabbi, Addressing Rumors Of Gay Bris During Pittsburgh Synagogue Massacre". VIN News. November 5, 2018. Archived from the original on July 21, 2019. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
  16. ↑ Rosenberg, David. "Israeli-American rabbi barred from entering UK". Israel National News. Archived from the original on 2019-03-18. Retrieved 2019-03-16.
  17. ↑ Weich, Ben. "Controversial Rabbi Yosef Mizrachi says he did not to fly to Britain for speaking tour over 'risk' of being refused entry". www.thejc.com. Archived from the original on 2019-03-29. Retrieved 2019-03-16.
  18. ↑ "'Sick kids have sinned' rabbi banned from UK". jewishnews.timesofisrael.com.
  19. ↑ Doherty, Rosa. "Rabbi Mizrachi: Chief Rabbi is 'going to bring a Holocaust on the Jews in England'". www.thejc.com.
  20. ↑ "Rabbi Mizrachi says Chief Rabbi a 'cancer' who'll 'bring a Holocaust on UK Jews'". jewishnews.timesofisrael.com. Archived from the original on 2019-03-22. Retrieved 2019-03-23.
  21. ↑ Judah, Jacob (29 April 2020). "Controversial Sephardi rabbi claims blowing hair dryers in mouth can kill coronavirus". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  22. ↑ Reporter, Jewish News (28 April 2020). "Controversial rabbi says 'hot hair-blower' into throat can cure virus". jewishnews.timesofisrael.com. Archived from the original on 2021-04-30. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
  23. ↑ ToI Staff (8 December 2022). "Bennett's mother backs his lawsuit against rabbi who said she wasn't Jewish". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
  24. ↑ ToI Staff (11 September 2023). "'Shame and disgrace': Bennett wins defamation suit over claim mother not Jewish". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
  25. ↑ "Tucker Carlson Claims Israel Plans Al-Aqsa Attack Blamed on Iran". Pakistan Today. 6 March 2026. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
  26. ↑ Rosenfeld, Reuven (11 March 2026). "Rabbi Yossi Mizrachi Responds to Tucker Carlson: Third Temple Rebuilding Tied to Messianic Era, Elimination of Antisemitism". VINnews. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Yosef_Mizrachi&oldid=1382403535"