Rav David Yosef Urges Israel To Back Trump Shabbat Call: ‘How Much More So Should We Jews’

Israel’s Sephardic Chief Rabbi, Rabbi David Yosef, called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog to join President Donald Trump’s call to honor Shabbat, following a White House proclamation issued ahead of the upcoming Sabbath.

Rabbi Yosef, known by the traditional title Rishon LeZion, made the appeal during his weekly Saturday night class, linking Trump’s declaration to the coming Shabbat, Parshat Bamidbar, known in some communities as Shabbat Kallah, the Shabbat before Shavuot.

?BIG: Harav Dovid Yosef, the Rishon L’Tzion and Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel, called on Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Herzog to join President Donald Trump’s recent public call to honor Shabbos.

Speaking during his weekly shiur, Harav Yosef connected Trump’s White… pic.twitter.com/g7PFzQhux2

— Moshe Schwartz (@YWNReporter) May 10, 2026

The White House proclamation, issued for Jewish American Heritage Month and America’s 250th anniversary, called on Jewish Americans to observe a national Sabbath from sundown May 15 to nightfall May 16. The proclamation said the day would recognize “the sacred Jewish tradition of setting aside time for rest, reflection, and gratitude to the Almighty.”

Rabbi Yosef said the declaration should not remain only an American initiative.

“I first of all expect, and I call on the president of the state and the prime minister of the Jewish state to join the call of the president of the United States, at least here in the Land of Israel,” he said.

He said the timing carried special meaning because the coming Shabbat leads into Shavuot, the holiday marking the giving of the Torah. Rabbi Yosef cited the rabbinic teaching that “if the Jewish people observe two Shabbatot according to halacha, they are immediately redeemed.”

The chief rabbi framed Trump’s call as a moment for Jews in Israel and around the world to strengthen Shabbat observance together.

“How important it is that we all unite around the holy Shabbat,” he said.

Rabbi Yosef said the fact that a non-Jewish leader publicly honored Shabbat should stir Jews to recognize the importance of the day themselves.

“If a non-Jewish person honors our religion so deeply and calls even on non-Jews to rest on Shabbat, how much more so should we Jews, who have the Torah, who have our tradition, and who have the precious gift called the holy Shabbat,” he said.

He also addressed Jewish communities in the Diaspora, urging them to take part in the upcoming Shabbat Kallah as a shared moment of unity.

“How important it is that everyone unite around Shabbat observance, and in its merit we should merit the complete redemption speedily,” Rabbi Yosef said.