February 28, 2019

The IRF rarely weighs in on internal Israeli politics as it is not within the purview of the mandate of our rabbinical organization. However, as an organization of rabbis, clergy and scholars who have been deeply committed to the values of classic Religious-Zionism, we must express our condemnation of the merger of the Otzma Yehudit party, political heir to the Kahanist platform, with the Bayit Hayehudi party for the upcoming Israeli elections.

This is a betrayal of many of the core values that are at the heart of Religious-Zionism for temporary political gain. We are also deeply disappointed that Prime Minister Netanyahu was the prime mover pushing for this merger and used his political influence to see it through. We join with the many American-Jewish and Israeli organizations, including AIPAC and the AJC, as well as the many leading rabbis and thinkers in Israel and in the Diaspora who have expressed their rejection of this move which is a desecration of God's name by those who identify as the political representatives of Religious Zionism.