A Letter to President Bush

by Rabbi Zalman Baruch Melamed

May 2, 2003 - Nissan 30, 5763



To: Hon. George Bush, the President of the United States

First Lady Mrs. Laura Bush



Greetings and blessings.

I would like to congratulate you and the entire American nation on your successful mission against the cruel dictator from Iraq. The toppling of his corrupt regime opens a window of hope for a new era in the Middle East and the entire world.



This, then, is the hour to right the terrible wrong that has been done to the Jewish Nation over the past 2,000 years. Expelled from their land and homeless, the Jews have wandered throughout the centuries from country to country. Yes, 50 years ago, with G-d's help, we merited our own state - but it is one that has never known a day of peace, and has never enjoyed its own recognized borders. Who knows if it is not you, Mr. President, who has been chosen as the agent to restore the People of Israel to its own small land in the borders delineated in the Bible?



The People of Israel is intertwined with its Land - all of it - from the depths of its very soul. All the Prophets predicted that we would return - and lo and behold, this is happening in front of our eyes.



To counter this, Arab terrorist organizations, backed by Arab countries, have made it their goal to wage war against the restored State of Israel, vowing to battle until its destruction. They wish to perpetuate the theft of the Promised Land from its rightful owners, the Jewish People.



Hon. President and Mrs. Bush, you who began this holy mission of uprooting and destroying evil - please finish the job! Terrorist organizations such as the PLO - which to this very day are headed by some of the worst terrorists of the 20th century - are no different than the regime that until recently ruled Iraq. They will never make peace with Israel! Every attempt to reach an agreement with them brings more bloodshed, as happened with the Oslo Accords.



The only real solution is to rectify the historic wrong and enable the People of Israel to return to their entire land. Every program that stands in opposition to the Prophets' Road Map cannot succeed. I ask you to stand by Israel's side, help it return to its entire land, and be a partner in the only "guaranteed" process - the Peace Plan laid out by the prophets!



The communities of Judea, Samaria, and Gaza are populated by idealistic and values-guided Jews, who have withstood and overcome the tremendous difficulties of life in the dark shadow of constant terrorism. They are firmly implanted in, and bonded to, their land. Jews simply cannot be uprooted from places like Beit El and Shilo; to do so is almost a contradiction in terms.



The word of G-d will stand forever. I implore you not to be a partner to those who wish to go against the word of G-d, as expressed by the Prophets.



With blessings and great respect,



(Rabbi) Zalman Baruch Melamed

Rabbi of Beit El and Chairman of the Rabbis Council of Judea, Samaria, and Gaza



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Rabbi Melamed is also the Rosh Yeshiva and Dean of the Beit El Yeshiva Center Institutions.