Page "Ovadia Yosef" Paragraph 87

Some of Yosef's theodicy-related pronouncements have also been controversial.

In 2000, he described the Holocaust as God's retribution against the reincarnated soul of Jewish sinners: " The six million Holocaust victims were reincarnations of the souls of sinners, people who transgressed and did all sorts of things that should not be done.

They had been reincarnated in order to atone .".

Shas chairman Eli Yishai said criticism of the rabbi is unjustified, explaining, " Rabbi Ovadia weeps for every Jew who is killed ... but nobody, not even a saint, has not sinned.

Everyone dies in a state of sin.

It's even stated that he declared that Hitler was a messenger sent to do God's work before the arrival of the Messiah.