Trump Declares “Shabbat 250” — First U.S. President to Call for National Shabbat

President Donald Trump signed a Jewish American Heritage Month proclamation on Monday, May 4, designating sundown May 15 through nightfall May 16 as a national Shabbat, branded “Shabbat 250” in honor of the country’s 250th anniversary. Multiple Jewish organizations describe the proclamation as the first time a sitting U.S. president has formally called for a national Shabbat observance. The designation directly links Sabbath rest to America’s semiquincentennial celebrations.

The proclamation cites George Washington’s 1790 letter to the Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island, and honors Revolutionary financier Haym Salomon for his role in funding American independence. The text also includes a line stating that the administration is “aggressively fighting the violence against Jewish Americans that increased under my predecessor.” Chabad, Agudath Israel, the Religious Zionists of America–Mizrachi, and the Israel Heritage Foundation have all praised the move.

The Shabbat 250 observance falls on the same weekend as “Rededicate 250,” a Trump-launched national prayer event tied to the broader Freedom 250 semiquincentennial initiative. Synagogues and Jewish communal organizations are preparing programming to mark the weekend across the United States. The proclamation comes amid heightened concern over rising antisemitism on college campuses and in major American cities. (CH/VFI News)

Father God, we thank You for this unprecedented presidential call to honor the Sabbath and to bless the Jewish community in America. We pray that the Shabbat 250 weekend would be a time of genuine rest, prayer, and spiritual renewal across the United States. Please use this moment to push back the rising tide of antisemitism and to draw both Jew and Gentile closer to Your Word. We ask Your blessing on the Jewish people and on America during her 250th year, in Yeshua’s Name.