A group of the nation’s senior Orthodox Jewish leaders have signed an open letter in support of President Donald Trump, praising the Trump administration’s “commitment to the essential importance of religious entities.”
In May, the president called on governors across the nation to allow churches and other houses of worship to reopen if they hadn’t already done so, calling them “essential.”
“In America we need more prayer, not less,” Trump said at the time.
“We write to express our deepest gratitude to you, Mr. President, especially in light of your recent declaration that houses of worship should be considered ‘essential,'” the letter reads.
“You have given a powerful voice to what all good people know beyond any doubt: that now, more than ever, we must turn to Almighty G-d, fortifying our faith and staying true to our values in the face of these current tribulations.”
Among the letter’s signatories are Satmar Rebbe in Kiryas Joel, New York, Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum; the Satmar Rebbe in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood, Rabbi Zalman Teitelbaum; the Vizhnitz Rebbe, Rabbi Yisroel Hager; the Bobov Rebbe, Rabbi Benzion Halberstam; and Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetsky, a senior member of Agudath Yisrael of America’s Council of Torah Sages, the Pupa Rebbe, the Munkacs Rebbe, the New Square Rebbe, the Rachmistrivka Rebbe, and a number of ultra-Orthodox leaders.
“During any time of crisis, people of all backgrounds, beliefs and denominations look for leadership, to help them steer a course through the turbulence and uncertainty. Yet, not every era is blessed with the same caliber of leadership, as becomes evident in the extent to which a nation retains its integrity through times of upheaval,” they wrote.
The rabbis praised Trump for “expressing that leadership we need so urgently” and for “standing up for the first amendment rights which is critical to help us weather to storm of the current pandemic.”
“You have exemplified that leadership with your commitment to the essential importance of religious entities. You understand, Mr. President, that it is our faith in G-d that will lift us out of this calamity.”
“As you have strengthened America to proudly hold aloft the banner of G-d and religious belief, so too, may G-d Almighty bless you to proudly lead us to victory in our current war with COVID-19,” they wrote, citing Psalms (84:8) to bless the president with the ability to “go ‘from strength to strength’ leading us forward towards ever greater good.”
The president thanked the leaders on Twitter on Oct. 25.
“The letter was drafted in the summer and signatories were added until recently and signed by an unprecedented union of rabbis. It’s publicized here for the first time,” it said in a Twitter post.
