The Coalition for Jewish Values (CJV) slammed the so-called “Orthodox Statement on Spiritual Resistance” against the administration of US President Donald Trump as "unrepresentative of the Orthodox rabbinate or Jewish values.”
The 'resistance' statement was issued by a group of 22 self-identified Orthodox clergymen, and was organized by Shmuly Yanklowitz, a Rabbi from the Open Orthodoxy movement who gained notoriety when he rewrote the traditional Jewish prayer for the government to reflect his opposition to President Trump's policies following Trump's surprise victory in the 2016 Presidential election.
The statement calls Trump's presidency “an administration that poses a grave threat to our democracy” and calls on readers to “pursue righteousness” and “challenge oppressive and dangerous policies.”
CJV Senior Rabbinic Fellow Rabbi Avrohom Gordimer called the statement "alarmist," and accused the clergymen of "unfairly and inaccurately conjuring up grave and baseless imagery of oppression and persecution, in order to scare readers into concurrence."
CJV Senior Rabbinic Fellow Rabbi Aryeh Spero added: “Judaism places profound emphasis on self-defense and protecting those whom we, as leaders, are assigned to protect. It is the duty of the President and those in leadership roles to protect the citizens of their country. The innocent citizens of Western countries have been repeatedly victimized by countless attacks, in both Europe and the United States. Jihadists took full advantage of our penchant for moral compassion, and unrestrained good will and noble intentions has led to atrocities. Those calling for open borders are acting irresponsibly, and seem indifferent or blind to the previous results of the ‘open borders’ they are demanding.”
CJV said that the positions of the Open Orthodoxy movement are not representative of Orthodox Judaism and are rejected by the positions of the majority of Orthodox organizations and rabbis.