24 hours before Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met with US President Donald Trump, the Rabbinical Congress for Peace (RCP), representing 400 prominent rabbis in Israel, intensified its efforts to persuade Netanyahu to abandon the diplomatic fantasy of a two-state solution.

The rabbis on Tuesday 18 Shevat met with Science Minister (Likud) Ofir Akunis at his office in the Knesset to thank him for his public opposition to this dangerous solution and encouraged him not to concede to the prime minister on this issue.

The rabbis reminded Minister Akunis of the Halachic ruling in Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 329 that not only is surrendering territory to the enemy forbidden but even “verbal statements” to this effect pushes peace further away and emboldens the terrorists to increase their murderous attacks against Israel.

Rabbi Joseph Gerlitzky, Chairman of the RCP and Rabbi of Central Tel Aviv, told the minister that although Mr. Netanyahu states “I will navigate and I will lead, but if he doesn’t abandon his position and state loud and clear that the establishment of a Palestinian state is a fantasy, not only will he not navigate nor will he lead but will lose his right to remain prime minister. In the past 20 years, we have seen what happened to those prime ministers who acted against the Torah and conceded territory to the Arabs.

“G-d Almighty has granted the prime minister an historic opportunity to rectify the mistakes that were made in the past decades by leading to the surprise election of a US President who opposes in principle the Oslo agreements and any recognition of a Palestinian authority,” the rabbis told Minister Akunis.

“Unfortunately, Prime Minister Netanyahu appears to ignore this opportunity and therefore we are make a last minute appeal to him STOP!

Rabbi Yirmeyahu Cohen, former head of the Rabbinical Court in Paris recalled an encounter he had with former Prime Minister Yitzchak Shamir who told him “we should not talk with our neighbors and certainly not to lead them to think that they will get any territory from us.”

This did not change just as our neighbors have not changed and when we negotiate with them terror increases,” said Rabbi Cohen.

Rabbi Abraham Schreiber, a rabbi who lead a congregation in Gush Katif, recalled his personal grief as an evacuee from Gush Katif. “It’s been 12 years since we were chased out of our homes in Gush Katif and we are still leaving in temporary homes as if we were refugees in our own country just because the Israeli government wanted to find favor in the eyes of the world. Look to what it lead to, more and more terror.

Rabbi Avrohom Shmuel Lewin, Executive Director of the RCP, told Minister Akunis not to be deterred and that his opposition to the two- state solution will actually assure his continuing rise in Israel’s political establishment

The rabbis also discussed with the minister the establishment of a parliamentary lobby against the two-state solution in order to prove to the world that the majority in Israel is against such a policy.

Akunis thanked the rabbis and urged them to continue making their voices heard against the foolish idea of two states and strongly supported the formation of a lobby against it.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)