Rabbi Eliezer Melamed, rabbi of the town of Har Bracha in the Shomron (Samaria) and the Dean of the Har Bracha Yeshiva, a prolific writer on halakhah whose seminal books on Jewish law are part of school curriculae, called on American olim and visitors with the right to vote in the upcoming U.S. presidential elections to cast their votes for the Republican nominee, Mitt Romney.
Rabbi Melamed has a column in the Hebrew Besheva weekly newspaper published by Arutz Sheva, whose translation is also posted over the weekend in the Judaism section ofArutz Sheva's English site.
In this week's column, Rabbi Melamed writes that “all American citizens who believe in G-d and his prophets should vote for Romney,” not incumbent President Barack H. Obama, “who is one of the most hostile presidents ever to Israel.”
He asserted that there is no reason for Americans in Israel to restrain themselves from voting for Romney, because U.S. law gives them the freedom to vote abroad for whichever candidate they wish, for whatever reason they believe is important.
“When Obama was elected I, like many others, felt uplifted. Here was the first President with roots in Africa, married to a woman who is the descendant of slaves, elected to the highest office by the citizens of the greatest power in the world, both white and black. I had tears I my eyes when I saw a photo of African-Americans standing tall to greet the President as he made his way to the White House.
"We had great hopes that a man like him would understand the Jewish people, who gave the world the concepts of freedom and morality, and would agree that after thousands of years of exile and suffering, that the world should help the Jewish nation return to its homeland."
“But unfortunately. it became clear that he was one of the most hostile presidents ever regarding Israel,” Rabbi Melamed continues. “Instead of helping the Nation of Israel to build the Land of Israel, Obama pressures us to stop building in Judea and Samaria and in Jerusalem. Two years ago, when the building freeze ended, Obama and his advisors continued to rudely demand that we halt all building, instead of recognizing the great sacrifice we made in agreeing to the freeze... the result [of their policies] is that American interests in the Middle East have been damaged.”
As such, he added, “it is worthy for American citizens who believe in G-d and his prophets to vote for Mitt Romney for president, and to vote in elections for the Senate and Congress individuals who are true friends of Israel – Democrats or Republicans - who believe that the Land of Israel belongs to the people of Israel, as G-d promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
