"Capital Offense": Rabbis' Call Not to Waste a Vote on Those Who Might Not Pass

Dozens of senior rabbis in the Religious Zionist movement, led by Rabbi Yaakov Ariel and Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, published a letter calling on the public to vote only for parties that are certain to pass the electoral threshold. The rabbis identify the decision as a 'capital offense of the entire nation.'

Dozens of senior rabbis in the Religious Zionist movement, led by Rabbi Yaakov Ariel and Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, published a letter calling on the public to vote in the elections, to be held tomorrow, only for parties that are certain to pass the electoral threshold. The rabbis, associated with 'Torat Ha'aretz Hatova,' clarify that this is a fateful decision that will affect the future of the state's Jewish identity. In their letter, under the title 'Union of Rabbis Who Love the People, the Torah, and the Land,' they write that 'at this hour, every vote counts' and that this is a 'capital offense of the entire nation.' The rabbis explain that the elections will determine whether the state's loyalty to the people, the Torah, and the land will continue. The letter is also signed by Rabbi David Hai Hacohen, Rabbi Isser Klonsky, Rabbi Zalman Baruch Melamed, Rabbi Yaakov Shapira, Rabbi Elyakim Levanon, and dozens of other rabbis.