JERUSALEM – A group of hundreds of prominent Israeli rabbis this week urged President-elect Barack Obama to "implement the will of God" during his upcoming presidency by ensuring the entire state of Israel remains under Jewish sovereignty.

"According to media publication of the prayer you recently placed in the Western Wall, you asked God: 'make me an instrument of your will.' Consistent with your focus on the will of God we trust that you are aware of the will of God when it comes to Jewish sovereignty in the entire Land of Israel," wrote the Rabbinical Congress for Peace in a letter delivered to Obama.

The Congress is a coalition of more than 350 Israeli rabbinic leaders and over 850 rabbis from abroad, including in the U.S.

"The ruling of Jewish law forbids the surrender of any part of our Holy Land to Israel's neighbors based on the obligation to safeguard lives that are in jeopardy. This ruling was issued by the majority of the most prominent rabbis in Israel and abroad, among them former justices of Israel's Supreme Rabbinical Court," write the rabbis.

"This ruling is anchored in God's eternal Torah, whose ethical standards underlie Western civilization. We are therefore confident that you, Mr. President-elect, who prayed to be an instrument of God and God accepted your prayer, will now do everything in your power to implement the will of God that the Promised Land that He expressly allocated to the Jewish People will remain under Jewish sovereignty," the rabbis write.

"The last 15 years have proven without a shadow of a doubt that the 'land for peace' formula … is a dangerous policy that only leads to bloodshed and instability in the region," added the rabbis.

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The letter comes as Israel and the Palestinian Authority yesterday formally confirmed their commitment to continuing U.S.-backed negotiations after Obama takes office. The parties have agreed to negotiate based on the principles determined at the Annapolis conference, which seeks to create a Palestinians state, at least on paper, in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and eastern sections of Jerusalem.

Last week, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who leaves office in February, called Obama to congratulate him on his win and reportedly to discuss the need to press ahead with negotiations to create a Palestinian state.

Olmert's office said in a statement the prime minister and Obama "agreed on the need to continue to advance the peace process, and this, while safeguarding the security of Israel."

The statement said Obama and Olmert also "spoke about the long friendship between the United States and Israel and the need to preserve and strengthen this friendship."

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