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By Vita Fellig

Some 80 Orthodox rabbis signed a letter on Monday supporting the presidential candidacy of former President Donald Trump —nearly a week after a progressive Modern Orthodox rabbi circulated a letter with signatures of 33 colleagues endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris.

Rabbi Tuly Weisz, founder of Israel365, which connects Christians with the Land of Israel, told JNS he was “infuriated” by the prior letter, which led him to organize the pro-Trump one.

“I was quickly able to see that the rabbis who signed the letter are not traditional standard Orthodox rabbis,” he said. “Everybody knows the Orthodox community is solidly in support of Trump, as are Israeli Jews.”

The signatories of the pro-Trump letter said they believe that Harris “will continue the dangerous positions of the Biden administration that contributed to the deadly Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthi and Iranian attacks on Israel.”

The rabbis—80 at press time—stated that Harris’s “constant calls for a ceasefire and a two-state solution,” and “the likelihood of her withholding even more weapons from the IDF, presents a significant risk of pikuach nefesh, endangering Jewish lives.” 

The rabbis also expressed gratitude to Trump for pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal and having “crippled Iran’s economy, cut funding to the terrorist-enabling UNRWA, signed into law and enforced the Taylor Force Act, visited and prayed at the Kotel, moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights and established the Abraham Accords.”

Weisz told JNS that “the Orthodox community has been ignored by polling and the pundits.”

“There is such a disconnect between the Democratic Party, which has really moved far to the left especially post-Oct. 7, and the Orthodox Jewish community, which leans right,” he added. “The Harris campaign is trying very hard to win the Muslim vote in the swing state of Michigan, and this means the Jewish vote is being taken for granted.”

Rabbi Pesach Lerner, president emeritus of the Coalition for Jewish Values and a signatory to the letter, stated in a release that Orthodox rabbis endorse Trump, because “he’s good for Israel. He’s good for the U.S. economy. He’s good for family values. He’s good for U.S. energy. He’s good for a strong and safe America. He’s good for American and world stability.”

“The better question is, how could Orthodox Rabbis and others not endorse him?” Lerner added.

Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetsky, 100, one of the most prominent Orthodox rabbis in the world and longtime head of the Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia, reportedly endorsed Trump, as did David Lau, former Israeli Ashkenazi chief rabbi.

Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz, a progressive Modern Orthodox rabbi and self-identified “social-justice activist” who founded the Valley Beit Midrash in Scottsdale, Ariz., created and circulated the letter with the signatures of 33 rabbis who supported Harris’s “upstanding character.”

The letter cites those who cannot sign due to the “power of the fear-mongering among the Trumpism that has overtaken large segments of Orthodoxy” and states, “We will serve as their representatives.”

“As Orthodox rabbis, we believe that former President Trump poses a threat to democracy in the United States and to stability around the world. His character is not suited to be the leader of the free world, and his values are not aligned with those of our holy Torah,” they write. “While one can certainly engage in debate regarding certain policies, the risks posed by former President Trump’s character makes clear to us as Torah-abiding Jews that we should support Vice President Kamala Harris.”

“She is a person of upstanding character, offers stability in her leadership, and supports Israel and the Jewish people,” they add.

Among the signatories of the letter are nearly 10 women, some of whom are identified as “rabbi” and others as “rabbanit.” Traditional Orthodox Judaism is opposed to the ordination of women.

Dov Hikind, a former New York state representative and founder of Americans Against Antisemitism, wrote that “my neighbor’s very cute and lovable pet pig is as ‘Orthodox’ as many of these rabbis.”

“Over 95% of traditional Orthodox (haredi) rabbis will be voting for Trump,” wrote Rabbi Yaakov Menken, managing director of the Coalition for Jewish Values.

Source: JNS