Orthodox Zionist Union Urges Jews to Call White House
One of the largest religious Zionist organizations in America, the Orthodox Union (OU), has posted the following message on its website.
Action Alert: Keep Jerusalem United
In advance of President Bush's upcoming visit to Israel, Wednesday, January 9, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has publicly stated that "Israel must internalize divided Jerusalem".
ACT NOW.
Call the White House today and urge the president to resist pressuring Israel to internationalize or divide Jerusalem. The White House comment line is (202) 456-1111 and the email address is president@whitehouse.gov.
When you call, be firm but respectful while noting that:
1) Jerusalem and the Jewish people share a bond dating back thousands of years. The city is in our prayers three times daily and we remember Jerusalem at the holiest moments of the year.
2) A divided Jerusalem will be unsafe. When it was divided prior to 1967, Jerusalem was a city under siege and at war. Sniper fire and mortar attacks were common. Sderot today will be Jerusalem tomorrow if we allow it to be divided.
3) Only under Israeli sovereignty has Jerusalem been free to all faiths and all peoples. Prior to 1967, Jewish holy sites, the Western Wall, synagogues and graveyards were desecrated, vandalized and destroyed. Christians faced - and face today in parts of the Muslim world - restrictions on their freedom to worship and practice.
For the Sake of Jerusalem, Do Not Remain Silent
The OU website also provides a list of contact information of American and Israeli government officials.
The OU heads a coalition of religious Zionist organizations under the name "Jerusalem Task Force". Their slogan is "Keep it one, keep it ours."
Yes, the city is in our prayers three times daily and we remember Jerusalem at the holiest moments of the year. But what are we praying for? That G-d redeem us from exile and bring us back to Jerusalem with the coming of the messiah.
By implying that the current State of Israel and its rule over Jerusalem is what we have been praying for when we say "Next year in Jerusalem" and "To Jerusalem Your city may You return with mercy", the OU has falsified the meaning of the Torah and denied the coming of the messiah.
Belief in the coming of the messiah is one of the 13 Fundamental Principles of Judaism. Maimonides states in his commentary to the Mishnaic chapter Chelek that whoever denies any of these principles is not considered an adherent of Judaism. We therefore question whether these Zionists should use the name "Orthodox Union" for their organization. The word "Orthodox" means adherence to traditional Judaism as it has been taught and practiced in all centuries past.
Rabbi Ahron Kotler, Rabbi Elchonon Wasserman and many other gedolim stated in 1937 that the founding of any Jewish state, even if run according to Torah, would be a type of denial of the coming of the messiah. Today, we see the meaning of their words more clearly than ever, when so-call Orthodox organizations take words from the Bible and prayerbook that were meant to refer to the coming of the messiah, and use them in support of the Zionist state. These organizations include, as of November 2007, even Rabbi Ahron Kotler's own organization, the Agudah, in which his own students and descendents are today members and leaders.