Spiritual leader whose deep learning, fiery oratory and populist politics won him huge influence in Israel

Ovadia Yosef was one of the world’s most revered rabbis, renowned for his scholarship and erudition in the field of religious law. He was no less well known, however, for his fiery populist oratory and unswerving political activism. As leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, he was one of the most powerful figures in Israeli politics.

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