Today, the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America — the nation’s largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization — commended President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for their work over the past two days toward the security of the United States and Israel.

The leadership of the Orthodox Union issued the following statement: “As an organization representing American Orthodox Jews committed to the welfare and security of the United States and Israel, we commend President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu for their important statements and efforts of the past few days advancing that security.

We appreciate President Obama’s clear statement that the policy of the United States is nothing short of preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and his explicit recognition of the sovereign right of Israel to defend itself against the threats of a virulently anti-Semitic regime. And we applaud the President’s clear statement of his commitment to the strong and enduring special relationship between the United States and Israel.

We appreciate Prime Minister Netanyahu’s clear articulation of the threat a nuclear armed Iran poses to the world at large and his assurance that Israel will be ready to defend itself by itself. And we applaud the Prime Minister’s clarion call for the recognition that the State of Israel exists for the purpose of defending the Jewish people against all her foes.

We commend the two leaders and their Administrations for working intensively to closely coordinate the efforts of the U.S., Israel and the international community to avert the Iranian threat.

The Orthodox Union’s policy has been, and continues to be, to support the Government of Israel as it makes the challenging decisions of how to best assure the Jewish State’s security.

As we Jews prepare to celebrate Purim, we will commemorate the Fast of Esther tomorrow. Then, as now, the Jewish people faced the threat from a Persian tyrant. Now, as then, we must engage in both tefillah – seeking God’s favor, as well as impactful actions. The OU leadership thus urges members of our community to be mindful of the current situation as we gather in our synagogues tomorrow on Ta’anit Esther.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)