OU & RCA: Pray to End Iranian Threat on Yom Kippur

Matzav:

The Orthodox Union (OU) and the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA) today called upon all congregations to dedicate a specific moment during their services on the upcoming holy day of Yom Kippur to daven for an end to the threat of a nuclear armed Iran. The OU and RCA leadership issued the following statement:

“On Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, Jews worldwide spend the day in fasting, prayer and repentance. Yom Kippur is not a day for politics.

But Yom Kippur 5773 is different.

On this Yom Kippur - the world faces an evil regime whose leaders have publicly committed themselves to destroying the State of Israel and to harming Jews worldwide; in addition, the Iranians are a threat to the global community.

On this Yom Kippur - the leader of that evil regime will address the United Nations General Assembly and again preach his hatred;

On this Yom Kippur - the words found in the High Holiday prayer book, “God determines which nations shall face war and which shall enjoy peace,” prompt us to contemplate with anxiety the fate of the State of Israel and her people, of Jews throughout the world and, indeed, of civilization as a whole.

The threat is dire and demands our attention on our holiest day. Therefore, we call upon all congregations to dedicate a specific moment during their services on the upcoming holy day of Yom Kippur to pray for an end to the threat of a nuclear armed Iran.

On Yom Kippur, may Israel and its people be sealed in the Book of Life for a year of life and peace.”

I already mentioned the existence of Rav Ovadia's prayer for the New Year which is anti-enemy-heavy and Rav Metzger's Iran-specific New Year prayer.

Let's make it a Yom HaKePurim - a day like Purim, as the Zohar says - and defeat the Haman of our time with our prayers.