Approximately 150 Religious Zionist rabbis, including municipal chief rabbis, yeshiva heads, and community rabbis, have signed an emergency letter published just days before the Knesset elections, calling on the public to refrain from voting for parties that are not certain to cross the electoral threshold.
In the letter, published on behalf of the Torat Haaretz Hatova rabbinical association, the signatories warn against the loss of votes within the right-wing camp and portray the decision at the ballot box as having decisive consequences for the future of the State of Israel.
At the heart of the letter is an explicit call not to vote for electoral lists whose ability to enter the Knesset is in doubt. The rabbis present their position as an obligation arising from the importance of the elections, rather than merely a political recommendation.
"It is clear that one must vote only for parties that will, without any doubt, cross the electoral threshold," the document states.
The letter is signed by several of the most senior figures in the Religious Zionist rabbinical leadership, including the presidents of the Torat Haaretz Hatova association, Rabbi Yaakov Ariel, Rabbi Isser Klonsky, and Rabbi David Hai Hacohen.
Other signatories include Rabbi Zalman Baruch Melamed, Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, Rabbi Eliezer Igra, and Rabbi Yaakov Shapira, along with dozens of additional rabbis representing various streams and communities within the Religious Zionist public.
The joint appeal seeks to establish a unified position on voting for smaller parties, amid concerns that votes cast for lists that fail to cross the electoral threshold will not translate into seats in the Knesset.
The letter does not name any specific parties, but it addresses the issue of right-wing electoral lists whose prospects of crossing the electoral threshold remain uncertain.
According to the rabbis, the country faces a "fateful decision" that will influence its future direction and character. The letter states that the election results will determine "whether the State of Israel's loyalty to the people, the Torah, and the Land will continue, or whether, God forbid, it may be severely harmed."
Based on this view, the rabbis urge the public to consider not only the identity of their preferred party, but also the possibility that their votes may fail to secure that party representation in the Knesset.
Toward the end of the letter, the rabbis once again emphasize the seriousness of the issue in their eyes. They go beyond warning about wasted votes, describing the decision at the ballot box as one of profound national significance.
"This is a matter of life and death for the entire nation."