An Urgent Plea: Calling on all New Yorkers to Get Out & Vote on November 8th
By: Fern Sidman
As election season is once again upon us, the Jewish Voice is calling upon all New York City residents and especially those in the communities that we serve in Brooklyn and elsewhere to get out and cast your vote on November 8. In the past, the Jewish Voice has specifically exhorted those in the Jewish community to familiarize themselves with the many issues directly affecting our lives and the candidates who are on the ballot.
Casting one’s vote on election day or prior to that during the early voting period is not only our civic obligation but it empowers us in shaping our lives and those of generations to come. As taxpayers and concerned citizens, we are keenly aware that only through direct participation in the electoral process will we have any real and impactful input into which direction we want this city to go.
Moreover, as New Yorkers, we are deeply concerned about the vicious litany of physical assaults on Jews and their institutions, the out-of-control crime rate that we are witnessing each day, the newly revised bail reform laws, as well as where our tax dollars are going, the direction that our schools are taking in providing a quality education to our children, the preservation of our yeshivas and the curriculum they provide students, the services that we receive from the city and state, such as maintenance of our parks, the efficiency of public transportation in our area, real estate and property owner guidelines and much more.
The Jewish community must understand and teach why the Holocaust survivors of the past generation, who saw the worst of humanity, understood what today’s generation does not, and that is the importance of voting. The Jewish voter’s education project should be named after the late Maurice Hedaya, who spent his lifetime registering Jews to vote and educating the members of our community on the importance of voting.
Our rabbis must use their pulpits and their influence to motivate people to register to vote and to actually push the proverbial lever on November 8th. Voting should be considered a community requirement and there are none better than our distinguished rabbis to communicate the urgency of voting most effectively to those in our community. Our lay leaders, our teachers, our synagogue board members, those who are leading our charitable organizations must all play a major role in persuading community members that it is not only to their advantage to cast their votes but, rather, it is absolutely critical and must be done under any and all circumstances.
This year in particular, New Yorkers are heading to the polls to vote in the critically important gubernatorial race.
Challenging Gov. Kathy Hochul in this year’s gubernatorial race is Long Island Congressman Lee Zeldin (R-NY). As a highly effective congressional representative of his constituency on Long Island, Zeldin is also a proud and vocal supporter of former President Trump and his record on supporting Israel and Jewish causes such as safeguarding our yeshivot from government intervention is unmatched.
Rep. Zeldin has called for complete transparency and total accountability for all elected officials and has every intention of cleaning up the deplorable corruption that is endemic to those who govern us in Albany. Moreover, Zeldin not only seeks law abiding officials throughout the state, but plans to boldly confront the Albany hegemony which has failed to produce effective legislation on a panoply of issues that directly affect the lives of every New Yorker.
As it pertains to the rising crime rates, Zeldin is of the firm belief that the rule of law must take precedence in any civilized society and aims to restore the respect and admiration once shown to those who wear the uniform every day and go out and risk their lives to protect us and our families. He plans to call for federal support for local police, state troopers and others on the front line of defense. Despite the call to defund the police, Zeldin remains entrenched in his position that criminal bedlam must be confronted.
On that note, Zeldin will also be in the forefront of repealing the state’s current bail reform policies. Repeat offenders will no longer be granted a mere slap on the wrist that is perfunctorily handed down by judges. As governor, Zeldin will be in a position to take on and fire district attorneys who are soft on crime and hold pro-criminal stances and will push for legislation that ensures that those charged with violent offenses be prosecuted to the fullest extent that the law allows.
Under a Zeldin administration in Albany, New Yorkers who are afraid to ride public busses and subways will no longer cower in fear. Under a Zeldin administration, our police forces throughout the state will make it their business to apprehend criminals as they answer the collective call from New Yorkers to restore safety and civility.
On the economic and fiscal front, Zeldin is prepared to bring back New Yorkers to the state they called home for their entire lives but who now have opted to live elsewhere. He is planning to offer tax cuts to small and large businesses to provide concrete incentive for job growth and economic vitality. As he has already done in Washington, he also plans to lower taxes for the middle class as well as substantially reduce the burden of property taxes as he works on plans to expand home ownership in the state.
Zeldin’s goal in the tax reform arena has always been to ensure that the hard working men and women of New York keep more of their paycheck, reduce their cost of living, and are able to save more for retirement.
In the matter of private education, Zeldin believes in the constitutional proviso regarding the separation of church and state and will work to ensure that both private and parochial schools are not subject to government intervention or harassment. In particular, he has championed and continues to champion the right of yeshivas and Jewish day schools to construct their own curriculum and adhere to their religious values without the constant eye of governmental officials on them. Zeldin believes that school administrators in conjunction with parental participation should be the arbiters of what their children are learning.
For these reasons and many more, we call on every single member of the Jewish community to vote on November 8th and to cast their votes for the one person who has our interests at heart in Albany and that is Rep. Lee Zeldin!
