Rabbi Eliezer Melamed of Yishuv Har Bracha, a prominent rabbinical voice in the dati leumi torani community is using his weekly column in the B’Sheva newspaper to call on persons eligible to vote in the United States presidential election to cast a vote for Governor Mitt Romney. He uses his column to detail the disappointment with President Barak Obama.

“There were tears in my eyes when I saw a picture of African Americans standing up with dignity at the avenue leading to the White House, their gaze as President Barack Obama entered the Oval Office. There was hope that a man like him would understand the Jewish People, that gave the world the message of freedom and moral foundations, and agree that after two thousand years of exile and suffering, it would be fitting for him to assist the Jewish people to return home, but unfortunately he turned out to be one of the most hostile presidents to Israel since the nation was established.

“Instead of helping building land by Israel, to the glory of the world, Obama began to apply pressure to freeze construction in Yehuda, Shomron an Yerushalayim, and two years ago, when the moratorium ended, instead of recognizing the sizeable sacrifice made by Israel and demand Arabs concession, Obama and ministers and advisers demanded a continued building freeze by Israel in those same areas, thereby bringing a curse upon their country and their people. And so it happened, American interests in the Middle East and around the world were hit.”

The rav calls to American Jews to make the correct decision, to vote for Romney. “Any American citizen who believes in God and his prophets should choose Mitt Romney for president as well as electing a Senate and Congress friendly to, those who believe the whole land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people as he promised to Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, whether such a person is Republican or Democratic.”

The rabbi continues by citing “the mistake of the Democratic Party” was the American intervention in the name of democracy, leading ultimately to the rise of militant Islam which endangers the entire world as well as affecting the welfare of the citizens under its control.”

He concludes sating “A great responsibility rests with every citizen of the superpower – USA. As we learned in Tanach, the relationship to the Jews is a key measure of moral stance of the nations and their leaders.”

He calls on American officials to support the Jewish People and the claim to its land and to “reject the baseless Arab claim, seeking to steal the land away and return it to its barren state”. He calls for supporting Israel, a move that will “lead to economic prosperity for all its citizens”.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)