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Rabbis lead prayers against new Israeli government at Western Wall

In Jerusalem’s Old City, prominent religious-Zionist rabbis pray the incoming government won’t “abandon the Land of Israel to the Arab takeover.”

By Dan Lavie and Hanan Greenwood, JNS

Following the swearing-in of Israel’s 36th government on Sunday, rabbis aligned with the religious Zionism movement gathered at the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City to “pray and cry out, out of fear the government will harm the state’s Jewish character.”

Among those in attendance were Rabbi Dov Lior, Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, Rabbi David Chai Hacohen, Rabbi Tzvi Kustiner, Rabbi David Dudkevich, Rabbi David Turgeman, Rabbi Chaim Steiner and Rabbi Elizerer Sadan.

In a statement, event organizers said they were “praying God does not give them [the new government] the option of carrying out their wicked plan to weaken Judaism in the country and the settlements so that He does not give them the power to harm” kosher certification, conversions, the sanctity of the family, the sanctity of the people of Israel, and Shabbat, “so that he doesn’t let them abandon the Land of Israel to the Arab takeover.”

Shortly after 9 p.m. on Sunday evening, Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid were sworn in as prime minister and alternate prime minister, respectively, after a special Knesset session approved their new government by a vote of 60:59.

A version of this article first appeared in Israel Hayom.