Rabbi Ovadia Yosef died on Monday Oct 07,2013 at the age of 93
Several hundred thousand people attended the funeral of influential Rabbi Ovadia Yosef,who was the leader of the Sephardic Jewish community in Jerusalem
Rabbi Ovadia Yosef was also the spiritual leader of the Shas party, which he founded in
1984 to boost representation for Jews of Middle Eastern and North
African origin
Until then, Israel's Govt and religious institutions had tended
to be dominated by Ashkenazi Jews - those of European descent.
Though it is currently in opposition, Shas became a kingmaker in several coalition governments
Orthodox Jews wearing black clothing congregated outside the seminary
where he studied. Israeli police said more than 700,000 people were
participating in the funeral
Crowds of people surrounded the van carrying Rabbi Yosef's body. Streets
have been closed off and thousands of additional police deployed
The Israeli President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were both present
for the funeral, which took place on the day of the rabbi's death in
accordance with Jewish custom
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