Rabbi Zalman Baruch Melamed, Rabbi of Beit El and Dean of the town’s yeshiva, has sent a letter of support to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for his bid to enable Israelis abroad to vote.
The rabbi met with Netanyahu over a year ago at the latter’s request during coalition negotiations with the National Union party, for which Rabbi Melamed is the leading spiritual guide. Rabbi Melamed brought up the issue of Israelis abroad, noting the importance of defining Israel as the country of Jews all over the world by enabling all of its citizens to vote, even if they live abroad.
“I congratulate and bless you on your efforts to promote the right of Israelis living abroad to vote in Israeli elections,” Rabbi Melamed wrote to Netanyahu. “In my opinion, this is a very great Zionist act. Such a law will bond Jews all over the world to the State of Israel, and will strengthen the awareness that Israel is the state of the entire Jewish Nation. More power to you, and do not be deterred by those who seek to impede this bill.”
In an article to be published in the next edition of the weekly B’Sheva newspaper, Rabbi Melamed writes,
The ambition of every religious, traditional and nationalist Jew is for the State of Israel to be a country of the entire Jewish nation, a country of Jews, a country with a Jewish character that gives rights to non-Jewish citizens who live in it… I have been waiting for many years for a law that would enable every Israeli, even if he lives abroad temporarily, to vote. I am not referring to the narrow political considerations of whether it will help the nationalist camp or not. Just like we must act to bring many Jews on Aliyah from the West and from Russia, even though many of them are far from a Torah lifestyle, we must similarly act to grant the right to vote to Jews abroad. Israel belongs to all Jews – and this is a more important principle than party politics.We must remember that Jews around the world, and particularly in the U.S., have many merits and a great share in the establishment and strengthening of the State of Israel… This law should set the stage for another law that enables every Jew in the world who spends at least ten days a year in Israel to become a citizen, even if he does not live here. This will bring about a change in that government policy will be based on the good of the entire Jewish Nation – and the attitude towards the Land of Israel will also change as a result…