Top Israeli rabbis laud Trump and his settlement policy decision
Leading religious-Zionist rabbis in the world penned a letter lauding the American president for reversing the US position that settlements are illegal, and for his other favorable policies to Israel
By JEREMY SHARONRevava - An Orthodox Jewish Israeli settlement in the West Bank, Located between Barkan and Karnei Shomron. Revava, Oct 23, 2018(photo credit: HILLEL MAEIR/TPS)
The most senior religious-Zionist rabbis in Israel have sent US President Donald Trump an adulatory letter of praise and thanks for his policies towards Israel and the settlements, saying he will go down in history “for all eternity,” for standing up for the Jewish state.Among the signatories were Rabbis Haim Druckman, Yaakov Ariel, Zalman Melamed and Shmuel Eliyahu, four of the most revered and respected rabbis in the religious-Zionist community, along with more than 200 other rabbis from the sector.Rabbis from the religious-Zionist community have made encouraging, advocating for and defending the settlement movement one of their principal priorities for several decades.It was the Trump administration’s decision to reverse the previous US position that settlements were illegal that prompted the rabbis’ outpouring of thanksgiving, which was replete with Biblical and even messianic references.The rabbis began their missive by quoting the prophecies of Jeremiah about the return of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel, and specifically Judea and Samaria, otherwise known as the West Bank, citing the prophet when he said “You will yet plant vineyards in the Samarian Hills” and his references to the return to the “land of Judah and in its towns.”“Two years ago, we merited recognition, granted by you and by the United States of America, of the centrality of Jerusalem, and now we have merited recognition of the legality of Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria,” the rabbis wrote.They carried on to note other instances of strong American support for Israel, saying that the US had “merited” the opportunity to be able to stand alongside the Jewish state.“A rare privilege has now presented itself to you,” they wrote to Trump. “To be the first American president to blaze the trail for recognition of Israel’s sovereignty over Jerusalem, the Golan Heights, and now, over the Jewish communities of Judea and Samaria.“The God of Israel promised that He would bless all those who bless Abraham…and the righteousness of your decisions will be a source of His blessings for you.”The rabbis concluded: “We are certain that you will go down in the history of the Jewish People for all eternity as the man who stood on the front lines, unafraid. May the promise made by God to Joshua be fulfilled in you: ‘I charge you: Be strong and resolute; do not be terrified or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.’”
