The Rabbinical Congress for Peace (RCP) sent a sharp message to new Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu) Friday, chastising him for his first statements as he took up the post this week.

“You can’t bribe G-d by going to pray at the Kotel and immediately afterwards announcing your acceptance of a two-state solution which endangers the Jewish people and the Jewish state,” the rabbis wrote. “Wasn’t enough blood spilled after every concession, withdrawal and submitting to pressure until now?” 

Signatories included Rabbi Joseph Gerlitzky, the Rabbi of Central Tel Aviv; Rabbi Moshe Havlin, Chief Rabbi of Kiryat Gat; and Rabbi Sholom Gold, the Rabbi of Har Nof in Jerusalem.

Gold wrote Liberman, posing, “don’t you realize that by making statements in favor of a Palestinian state [it] only rewards terror and invites more terror.”

“Your statement during the first speech as defense minister jeopardizes the security of Israel instead of defending it.” 

“There is nothing that has so divided Israel as trying to detach Israel from its land,” said the RCP, “it not only endangered Israel but is the cause of the tremendous schism among Israel today. The integrity of the Land of Israel is the only guarantee for the integrity of the nation and peace in the land as determined in the Jewish Code of Law Orach Chaim 329.”

The rabbis called on the defense minister to “come to his senses” and retract his statements.

“If you are too weak to withstand the pressure of the enemy and world opinion then resign as indeed your predecessor, Mr. [Moshe] Ya’alon did,” they said.

“If you truly want to contribute to the defense of Israel then follow the Torah which illuminates our lives and announce that there no longer will be any negotiations on withdrawals from any territory currently under Israeli control,” the rabbis concluded their letter.