On November 17, 2016 over 160 Orthodox rabbis, members of the Rabbinical Council of America, published a full-page statement in New York Times addressed to President-elect Donald J. Trump. The statement came in response to the UNESCO resolution of October 26, 2016 which denied the Jewish connection to Jerusalem, and included Mr. Trump’s own words condemning that resolution.

After congratulating President-elect Trump and expressing appreciation to President Obama, the statement asked Mr. Trump to fulfill his promise, “In a Trump Administration, the United States will recognize Jerusalem as the one true capital of Israel. The United Nations’ attempt to disconnect the State of Israel from Jerusalem is a one-sided attempt to ignore Israel’s 3,000-year bond to its capital city, and is further evidence of the enormous anti-Israel bias of the UN. Jerusalem is the enduring capital of the Jewish People and the overwhelming majority of Congress has voted to recognize Jerusalem as just that.”

Rabbi Shalom Baum, president of the RCA, emphasized the urgency felt by the signers of this statement. He said, “It is the responsibility of all lovers of truth and supporters of Israel to speak strongly against these nefarious attempts to rewrite history and to deny the 3300-year biblical and historical link of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel and the Temple Mount.”

The rabbis’ statement also addressed the question of U.S. policy in the United nations. Rabbi Dr. Leonard Matanky, Honorary President of the RCA, stressed the statement’s request that “both the President and the President-Elect not pivot from longstanding U.S. policy that a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians can only be achieved through direct negotiations between the parties.”

“In addition to our grave concern about Jerusalem and Israel” Rabbi Dr. Kenneth Brander, one of the statement’s organizers, stated, “This is the time to heal our divided country of the United States and work together with our President-elect. As religious leaders, we wish to make a statement protecting the rights of all and restoring unity and civil discourse in the United States.”

The Rabbinical Council of America is the largest rabbinical organization representing the Orthodox rabbinate. Founded in 1942, the RCA is the leading voice of the American Orthodox rabbinate.

Text of the statement:

We, the undersigned Orthodox rabbis, congratulate President-elect Donald J. Trump.

We wish President-elect Trump the greatest success in making every effort to heal a divided country, our blessed United States of America. Every Shabbat, in synagogues across America, we will continue to pray, as we have for generations, that God grant the president, the vice president, and the officers of this land the strength to lead all Americans to a prosperous and terror-free future.
On October 26, 2016, UNESCO passed a shameful resolution which denied a Jewish connection to Jerusalem, about which Mr. Trump stated: “In a Trump Administration, the United States will recognize Jerusalem as the one true capital of Israel. The United Nations’ attempt to disconnect the State of Israel from Jerusalem is a one-sided attempt to ignore Israel’s 3,000-year bond to its capital city, and is further evidence of the enormous anti-Israel bias of the U.N. Jerusalem is the enduring capital of the Jewish People and the overwhelming majority of Congress has voted to recognize Jerusalem as just that. Indeed, Biblical sources, irrefutable archaeological findings, and historical landmarks verify the ageless connection between Judaism, the Temple Mount, and other holy sites across Jerusalem and Israel.”

As Mr. Trump is about to assume the presidency of the United States of America, we ask him to act on these articulated principles by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and by standing firmly against the hateful and discriminatory rhetoric that is the underpinning of such anti-Israel resolutions at the United Nations.

Furthermore, with the transition in Washington beginning, we ask both the President and the President-elect not to pivot from longstanding U.S. policy that a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians can only be achieved through direct negotiations between the parties. We appreciate that President Obama has always protected Israel’s interest in the U.N. The U.S. should neither propose nor allow passage of any U.N. Security Council resolutions seeking to dictate unilateral terms upon Israel, nor should the U.S. attempt in any other way to impose a solution to the conflict or predetermine the status of disputed territories.

We appreciate President-elect Trump’s commitment to uniting our country and strong support for the security of the State of Israel as he becomes our next President and leader of the free world.

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