Former chief Sephardic rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, the spiritual leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, has called for the arrest of anyone who claims the world is older than the account given in the Bible. In a recent sermon, Yosef insisted that the world is less than 6,000 years old and criticized educators who teach otherwise. He also predicted that the messiah will arrive in 15 years, followed by the end of the world 200 years later. Yosef's remarks have sparked controversy over the intersection of religious belief and scientific understanding.