Israel's former Chief Rabbi Avraham Shapira has written a letter of endorsement for the National Religious Party. "One must vote for a religious list that is loyal to all the values of Torah," wrote Rabbi Shapira, who serves as Rosh Yeshiva (Dean) of the Merkaz HaRav Kook yeshiva in Jerusalem. The letter states, in part:
"We are facing an election campaign revolving around the question of Jewish sovereignty in the Land of our Fathers, and that of preserving the values of Judaism and the very character of the State. Every Torah-observant Jew must take part in the election and vote for a list that has proven with deeds its loyalty to the sacred values of the Nation of Israel, and must not refrain from taking a stand on these important questions... I call upon all those who are loyal to the Torah and those who are concerned about the Jewish character of the State of Israel to join those who support the religious list headed by the honorable Mr. Effie Eitam... The leaders of this list have promised to consult and act on all issues of religion, education, and the Land of Israel in coordination with the rabbis' opinions..."
MK Sha'ul Yahalom of the NRP told Arutz-7's Emanuel Shilo this week that his religious-Zionist party has always consulted rabbis and acted in strict accordance with their rulings on Halakhic [Jewish legal] matters, while on political matters it consults with the rabbis but does not consider their words as "binding rulings." Yahalom said that in the upcoming Knesset, Rabbi Chaim Druckman - head of the Bnei Akiva Yeshiva movement in Israel and a four-time Knesset Member - would be the one to decide whether an issue was "halakhic" or "political."
"We are facing an election campaign revolving around the question of Jewish sovereignty in the Land of our Fathers, and that of preserving the values of Judaism and the very character of the State. Every Torah-observant Jew must take part in the election and vote for a list that has proven with deeds its loyalty to the sacred values of the Nation of Israel, and must not refrain from taking a stand on these important questions... I call upon all those who are loyal to the Torah and those who are concerned about the Jewish character of the State of Israel to join those who support the religious list headed by the honorable Mr. Effie Eitam... The leaders of this list have promised to consult and act on all issues of religion, education, and the Land of Israel in coordination with the rabbis' opinions..."
MK Sha'ul Yahalom of the NRP told Arutz-7's Emanuel Shilo this week that his religious-Zionist party has always consulted rabbis and acted in strict accordance with their rulings on Halakhic [Jewish legal] matters, while on political matters it consults with the rabbis but does not consider their words as "binding rulings." Yahalom said that in the upcoming Knesset, Rabbi Chaim Druckman - head of the Bnei Akiva Yeshiva movement in Israel and a four-time Knesset Member - would be the one to decide whether an issue was "halakhic" or "political."