25 Nov AN INVOCATION IN AN AMERICA FIRST MOMENT: STANDING FOR FAITH AND PRINCIPLE

When I was invited to
deliver an invocation
at the America First
Policy Institute
(AFPI) Summit, I was
honored, but I also
hesitated. The timing,
early Friday morning,
was particularly challenging, and there were
other considerations as well. After consulting
with people I respect and trust, I came to see it
as an important opportunity at a critical
moment.
AFPI is a relatively new but rapidly growing
conservative think tank that promotes a
Trump-aligned “America First” agenda. It has
limited Jewish involvement and, until now,
had never hosted a rabbi to speak or offer an
invocation. With several high-ranking
members of the administration and prominent
conservative leaders present, the invitation
created a rare platform: to both express
gratitude for those standing firmly with Israel
and the Jewish people, and to candidly address
the troubling trends and dangerous elements
emerging in parts of the conservative world.
In this broader landscape, some institutions
have taken divergent paths. Most notably, the
Heritage Foundation has not, in recent times,
been sufficiently clear or consistent in
condemning antisemitism or its purveyors. By
contrast, the Hudson Institute has been a
steadfast ally of the Jewish community

through its long-standing, principled pro-
Israel positions. AFPI is currently on the pro-
Israel side of that divide, but it is crucial to

reinforce and encourage institutions like AFPI
to follow the Hudson model rather than
drifting toward the ambiguity we have seen
from Heritage.
I am grateful to share that the remarks were
warmly received. There were several
spontaneous rounds of applause, particularly
when speaking about unwavering support for
Israel. Afterward, many attendees came over
specifically to express their strong solidarity
with Israel and the Jewish people, and to
affirm how deeply the message resonated with
them.
I am sharing the text of my remarks below not
only for your interest, but also as a resource, a
set of talking points and themes you can draw
upon and adapt for your own settings, whether
addressing a crowd or having one-on-one
conversations where these issues arise.
Invocation at the America First Policy

Institute
Mar-a-Lago | November 21, 2025
Ladies and gentlemen, honored leaders and
dear friends,
We gather today to thank G-d for the gift of
this great nation and to offer our prayers for
America: for safety, unity, and for moral
clarity and courage.

I stand before you this morning as an Orthodox
rabbi, as an unapologetic Jew, and as a grateful
and proud American.
If we speak of “America First,” we must also
speak of how America first came to be. This
country was born from an extraordinary faith,
deeply informed by the language and ideas of
the Jewish Bible.
When our Founders wrote in the Declaration
of Independence that all men are “endowed by
their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,”
they were echoing the first chapter of Genesis,
that every human being is created b’tzelem
Elokim, in the image of G-d.
When they appealed to “the Laws of Nature
and of Nature’s G-d,” they were affirming that
there is a moral law higher than any king, any
parliament, or any polling data.
When they concluded, “with a firm reliance
on the protection of Divine Providence,” they
spoke in the language of our prophets, a
people placing its destiny in the hands of
Heaven.
So if we say “America First,” it must mean
America first in fidelity to these founding
biblical principles: First in honoring the
Creator who endows our rights. First in
defending the dignity of every person and
their right to practice their faith. First in
preserving the moral order that makes liberty
possible.
“America First” must not only mean
prioritizing American interests; it must mean
America first in standing true to the principles,
values, and ideals that made her exceptional in
the first place.
We now approach 250 years of American
history. For nearly a quarter of a millennium,
this nation has been a beacon of light and hope
to the world. It has understood that being the
world’s superpower means wielding not only
might, but also moral influence.
This morning, we offer our deepest gratitude
and our prayers for the next 250 years. That
America remains strong, free, and secure.
That her children grow up in homes of
stability, in communities of faith and
responsibility. That her leaders be guided by
wisdom, humility, and courage.
As Jews, we are profoundly conscious of the
blessing this country has been. In all of Jewish
history, no diaspora land has given us more
freedom, more safety, and more opportunity
than the United States of America, and for that
we are deeply grateful.
I stand here as a rabbi but also as an ordinary
Jew to say, “I love America,” not as a slogan
or a platitude, but as a heartfelt expression of
religious obligation, a fulfillment of hakaras
hatov, of gratitude: recognizing the goodness
we have received and feeling the responsibility
to respond with loyalty and service.
Yet I must also take this moment to speak

personally and honestly. We
are living in a time when,
from the extremes of both the
left and the right, a climate is
being created in which many
Jews feel less safe.
There are moments, even in
this blessed country, when I
step onto certain streets
wearing this yarmulka on my
head, and for the first time in
my life, I hesitate. I feel the
stares. I hear the rhetoric. I
read the threats. And I find
myself unimaginably asking:
Are they questioning my
loyalty? Do they see me as
fully American?
There are voices on the left who demonize
Israel and then look suspiciously at anyone
who loves and supports it, as if that love
somehow disqualifies us from full belonging
in American life. There are voices on the right
who speak of “real Americans” and “patriots”
in a way that can leave Jews and other
minorities wondering whether we are truly
included in that vision.
To all those voices, I say this, respectfully but
firmly: my loyalty to this country is not
conditional, not partial, not divided. It is
expressed in prayer for its leaders, in gratitude
for its freedoms, in service to its communities,
and in the raising of children who sing its
anthem and uphold its ideals.
And at the very same time and in no way a
contradiction, I am a proud, unapologetic Jew
and a steadfast supporter of Israel. To love
Israel is not to betray America. To stand with
Jerusalem is not to stand against Washington.
In truth, to love Israel is to be deeply faithful
to America’s own values, because America is
founded on values that come from Jerusalem:
On belief in one G-d. On the sanctity of human
life. On the rule of just law over mere power.
On the conviction that nations are accountable
to a higher moral standard.
The Bible that inspired the Declaration of
Independence is the same Bible that first gave
birth to the people and land of Israel. So when
America stands with Israel, America is
standing with the very wellspring of its own
moral vocabulary.
Let me be clear: to platform purveyors of hate,
to provide a podium to promote antisemitism,
may be one’s first amendment legal right, but
it is not “America First.” In fact, it is not
American at all. It is an offense against the
very values that America ought to be first in
defending. Those spreading vile lies against
Israel and the Jewish people on college
campuses, outside of Synagogues and even in
the halls of Congress do so not only because
they hate the Jew. In truth, they hate America,
they are not proud Americans, and they are not

loyal to how America first came to be or how
it must remain first in upholding its values.
We must speak with moral clarity. We must
act with courage. And we must continue to
express gratitude. We thank G-d Almighty that
on July 13, as a bullet was fired at him,
President Trump suddenly turned his head.
Turning his head saved his life, and the
president has continued to turn his head since
then: turning to listen, turning to hear the call
of the moment, turning to act. President
Trump and his Administration have shown
unprecedented loyalty and friendship to Israel
and the Jewish people, a steadfast support that
we don’t take for granted and for which we
will never stop saying thank you.
I close with a brief prayer.
“The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not lack.”
Let us never lack in knowing the Lord is our
Sheperd.
Master of the Universe, Bless the United
States of America as she approaches her 250th
year. May she return again and again to the
truths written in the Bible and echoed in its
founding Declaration—that our rights come
from You, and that our greatness lies in fidelity
to Your moral law. Bless our leaders, that they
may have wisdom to discern right from
wrong, courage to choose what is sometimes
the harder path. Bless the alliance between
America and Israel, two nations that look to
Jerusalem not only as a city on a map, but as a
source of enduring values. Bless this land so
all may continue to walk proudly including
those with our yarmulkas visible, our faith
intact, and our love for America unwavering
Our Father in Heaven: Give strength, wisdom
and courage to President Trump and his
distinguished administration to guide our
country towards unity, security, and success.
Guard the courageous members of the United
States military and the Israeli Defense Forces
as they guard us and protect freedom and
democracy around the world.
Dear G-d – We ask that you grant peace and
prosperity to the United States, to the State of
Israel and to the entire world, and let us
respond, Amen.