Vice President Kamala Harris Oct. 29. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

By Jacob Kornbluh November 3, 2024

A group of American rabbis, all identifying as Orthodox, published a letter of support for Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday. The organizers described the move as a “rabbi rebellion” given that Orthodox Jews have reliably voted for Republicans and turned out en masse for former President Donald Trump in 2020. (Jews in general, however, overwhelmingly vote for Democrats.)

“While one can certainly engage in debate regarding certain policies, the risks posed by former President Trump’s character make clear to us as Torah-abiding Jews that we should support VP Kamala Harris,” the endorsement read. It also praised her as “a person of upstanding character, offers stability in her leadership, and supports Israel and the Jewish people.”

Out of the 33 rabbis on the letter, at least nine were women. In traditional orthodoxy, women are not ordained or accepted as rabbis.

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A recent Nishma Research survey showed that 77% of Orthodox Jews — ranking antisemitism and Israel as critically important issues — back the former president. However, the poll of 1,296 voters, conducted via the web between Aug. 28 and Sept. 18, found that 55% of Modern Orthodox intended to vote for Harris.

Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz, an activist rabbi from Arizona who spearheaded the letter, said he worries about a possible Trump win: “His character is not suited to be the leader of the free world, and his values are not aligned with those of our holy Torah,” Yanklowitz said.

Rabbi Avraham Bronstein of New York’s Hampton Synagogue, who also signed the endorsement, said that the late Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, a leading Haredi authority on Jewish law and ethics, said Jews should participate in elections out of gratitude to the United States as a nation founded on loving-kindness. However, Bronstein argued, Trump “embodies the opposite of this, pitting different elements and groups of American society” against each other.

The letter quickly prompted another from Orthodox rabbis, blasting Harris for her calls for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war and endorsing Trump as a protector of Israel. It is unclear how many signatures the second letter has garnered.

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