Some of the most senior Orthodox rabbis in Israel have given endorsements to President Donald Trump and urged US Jews to vote for the incumbent over Democratic challenger Joe Biden.
The rabbis said the outcome of the US election was a matter of life and death for Israel, basing their backing for Trump primarily on his tough stance, until now, against Iran, and Biden’s stance of rejoining the Iran nuclear deal Trump withdrew from.
The signatories to the letter include Rabbi Haim Druckman, perhaps the most politically influential religious-Zionist rabbi in the country; Rabbi Dov Lior, former chief rabbi of Hebron and a leading figure in the settler movement; Chief Rabbi of Safed Shmuel Eliyahu; Rabbi Yehoshua Shapira, dean of the Ramat Gan Yeshiva; Rabbi Shabtai Sabato, dean of the Mitzpe Yeriho Yeshiva, and Rabbi David Pendel, dean of the Sderot Yeshiva.
“We urge you to support Donald Trump’s candidacy for president of the United States,” wrote the rabbis, saying Trump had “blocked Iran’s nuclear program – the greatest threat to world peace” and noting that the country has threatened to destroy Israel.
In 2018, Trump pulled the US out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) negotiated by the Obama administration and Iran along with five other world powers, and has since imposed heavy financial sanctions on Iran.
Since the US pulled out of the deal, Iran has enriched more than two tons of uranium, which could be used in a nuclear bomb, 10 times the amount permitted under the JCPOA.
The rabbis mentioned that the EU has noted that Iran is now in violation of the terms of the JCPOA, following the US withdrawal.
“Nonetheless, Joe Biden has declared that he would reinstate this dangerous agreement with Iran,” wrote the rabbis.
Trump has promised to forge a new nuclear agreement with Iran very quickly if he is reelected.
In an opinion piece for CNN, Biden said if he wins and “If Iran returns to strict compliance with the nuclear deal” then his administration would “rejoin the agreement as a starting point for follow-on negotiations.”
In their letter, the rabbis also noted Iranian support for terrorist groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas, noting Tehran has supplied these groups with “hundreds of thousands of missiles… which are now pointed at millions of Israelis.”
They also pointed to the recent normalization agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan “with the uncompromising support and encouragement of Donald Trump,” saying these agreements “strengthen the regional economy, security and peace.”
The rabbis concluded: “If you care about the State of Israel. If you care about world peace. Please, vote for Donald Trump. To you it is a ballot. To us it is a question of life itself.”