Rabbi Ari Berman, the president of Yeshiva University, will deliver a benediction at Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration.
Berman, according to a Y.U. press release, is the first Israeli-American to ever speak at an inauguration. According to a leaked copy of the program for the Jan. 20 ceremony, he also appears to be the only Jew scheduled to speak.
Berman, who has been at the helm of the flagship modern Orthodox university in New York City since 2017, will join a roster of faith leaders delivering messages at the dais. According to the Y.U. statement, his benediction will focus on “will call for the nation to rise to this historic moment and unite around America’s foundational values as a source for realizing our shared dreams of a prosperous, compassionate country led by faith and trust in God.”
He will also pray for the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. American and Israeli leaders say that, leading up to the inauguration, a deal to free some of the captives is on the verge of being finalized.
“It is a profound privilege to offer a prayer for unity and hope on behalf of [Y.U.] and for all Americans at this historic moment,” he tweeted on Monday.
Berman did not mention Trump in his statements on the benediction, but he is a representative of a community that has shifted to the right since Trump entered politics nearly a decade ago. Surveys show that most Orthodox Jews support the president-elect, including the vast majority of students at Y.U.
According to the leaked program, Rev. Franklin Graham, the son of the late televangelist Billy Graham who is an outspoken Trump supporter, will deliver an invocation early in the ceremony, as will Timothy Cardinal Dolan, the Catholic archbishop of New York. (Trump identifies as a nondenominational Christian; his vice president-elect, J.D. Vance, is Catholic).
Later in the program, Berman will deliver a benediction alongside Imam Husham al-Husainy, a Muslim leader in Dearborn, Michigan, a Muslim-mjority city that Trump won in November. Also delivering benedictions are Lorenzo Sewell, a pastor from Detroit, and Father Frank Mann, a Catholic priest from New York City.
Rabbi Marvin Hier, who leads the Simon Wiesenthal Center, spoke at Trump’s 2017 inauguration.
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