Yeshiva University president says ‘deeply honored’ to deliver benediction at Trump inauguration

The president of Yeshiva University, Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman, says he is “deeply honored” to deliver a benediction at incoming US President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration next week.

“As I prepare my remarks, I am inspired by the words of the prophet Jeremiah, who thousands of years ago walked through the roads of Jerusalem, the eternal capital of Israel, and proclaimed ‘Blessed is the one who trusts in God,'” Berman says in a statement to The Times of Israel.

“I pray that we are all united around the core values of life and liberty, of service and sacrifice, and especially of faith and morality, which George Washington called the ‘indispensable supports’ of American prosperity,” he says.

Berman, the university president since 2017, will deliver a blessing on January 20, immediately after Trump’s inaugural address. He will become the first American-Israeli to speak at a presidential inauguration, and the only university president to deliver remarks at Trump’s inauguration. He will be the 10th rabbi to participate in a presidential inauguration, and the third to deliver a benediction.

Berman will pray for the “wellbeing and safe return” of the hostages held in Gaza during the speech, the university says. Yeshiva University, in New York City, is the flagship institution of higher learning for US Modern Orthodox Jews, with more than 7,400 students in undergraduate and graduate programs.