Rabbi to US expats in Israel: Vote Romney
Prominent Religious Zionism Rabbi Eliezer Melamed calls on American citizens to support Republican presidential hopeful. 'Obama has proved he is not a true friend of Israel,' he states
Rabbi Eliezer Melamed, one of the most prominent rabbis in Israel's Religious Zionism movement, believes that "every American citizen who believes in God and his prophets should vote for Mitt Romney."
In an unusual statement on US affairs, the rabbi argued that "the true friends of Israel" must be supported both in the presidential election and in the Congressional and Senate elections.
According to Melamed, US President Barack Obama has proved that he does not fit that title.
In an article published in religious newspaper Besheva, Melamed wrote that American citizens had a great responsibility on their shoulders ahead of the elections, urging them to support a candidate who believes that "the entire Land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people, just like God promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob."
'Vote according to Israeli interests.' (Photo: Mati Elmaliach)
Melamed, who serves as the rabbi of the Har Bracha settlement, explained that he was taking a stand in regards to the US elections because his weekly column in the newspaper was translated into English, published on the Internet and distributed to thousands of subscribers.
"One of the readers asked me to comment on the upcoming elections in order to encourage Israel's supporters to participate in the elections," he wrote, adding that Jewish Americans who immigrated to Israel must vote according to Israeli interests as "it is the moral thing to do."
'Obama a hostile president'
Rabbi Melamed went on to say that when Obama was elected president, he felt "elated" – like many others – and had tears in his eyes, but soon realized that he was one of the most hostile presidents to Israel.
Among the president's "sins", Melamed mentioned Obama's pressure on Israel to freeze construction in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem – a move which the rabbi believes "put a curse" on the American people and their country.
Another "sin", according to Melamed, is Obama's response to the Arab Spring. According to the rabbi, encouraging popular uprisings in Arab countries – whether explicitly or by doing nothing to stop them – just because they were done in the name of democracy and freedom, put the entire world in danger.
The Israeli rabbi believes that strengthening these values in the Arab world, which is not ready for them culturally, led to the rise of the most radical and dangerous forces.
"The result is violence, chaos and bloodshed, as well as anger among the wide Muslim public, which feels Western countries are trying to impose a culture of lawlessness and permissiveness," he wrote.
Rabbi Melamed concluded by saying that "each and every citizen of the United States has a great responsibility on his shoulders. And as the Bible has taught us, the attitude towards the people of Israel is a way to measure the ethical stand of the world's nations and leaders.
"Therefore, there is room to take a stand in regards to the president and the Congress and Senate representatives according to their attitude toward Israel. Support those who back the Jewish people's return to their land and those who are against the Arabs seeking to rob us of our land."
