Jews May Not Attend Bullfights, Eminent Israeli Rabbi Rules

An eminent rabbi has ruled that religious law bars Jews from attending bullfights, the daily newspaper Hadashot said Sunday.

“There is no doubt that a bullfight completely contradicts our holy Torah,” the Jewish scriptures, the paper quoted Rabbi Ovadya Yosef as saying in his ruling issued last week.

Yosef was quoted as saying that one of the most severe restrictions in Jewish law forbids cruelty to animals.

“The bull is starved and harassed before he enters the arena, and then people challenge him and stab him with weapons, so that he goes mad, jumps and butts,” he was quoted. “But our learned rabbis commanded a man not to eat before he feeds his cattle.”

His decision was issued in reply to a question by a group of Orthodox Jews planning a European tour, including a visit to a bullfight in Spain, the newspaper said.