Why the Orthodox Community Is Flocking to Zeldin

The endorsements of Congressman Lee Zeldin for governor that are pouring in from New York’s fervently Orthodox Jewish communities reflect a sense not only that he is tougher on crime but also more likely to defend embattled Yeshivas that are under attack from the state government.That is the reckoning of one of the most widely respected sages in the Torah community, Rabbi Nosson Scherman. “It’s unusual because these institutions depend on the government, so normally you go with the incumbent,” Rabbi Scherman, an editor at the largest Jewish publishing house in America, told the Sun.That communal leaders are flouting the norms, Rabbi Scherman added, “points to the fact that it’s a highly principled decision.”This week Mr. Zeldin secured the endorsements of five major chasidic courts in Brooklyn — Belz, Bobov, Bobov-45, Ger, and Satmar of Williamsburg. That’s the tally reported in an Orthodox Jewish daily, Hamodia. These endorsements could yet prove decisive in the tight race.Two polls in recent days have shown Mr. Zeldin within a single point of his opponent, Kathleen Hochul, the incumbent governor. The endorsements of Mr. Zeldin have largely focused on Mr. Zeldin’s tough approach to crime and his promise to defend yeshivas from new regulations.Those regulations, coming from the state government, would limit the autonomy of Jewish schools. While the exact influence of the Orthodox Jewish vote remains to be seen, a recent New York Times article attributed Eric Adams’s mayoral victory in New York City to votes cast in Orthodox Jewish communities.“Hasidic voters were instrumental in Eric Adams winning,” presidential candidate Andrew Yang’s former campaign manager, Christopher Coffey, told the Times. Mr. Zeldin has won support from both the chasidic and non-chasidic sectors of the Orthodox world, even including the Chabad-Lubavitch chasidic community.Chabad does not officially endorse political candidates, but community activists in the Chabad community of Crown Heights published a letter Sunday announcing their support for Mr. Zeldin. “First and foremost, our right to choose our children’s chinuch [education] is being threatened,” the letter said.In addition to the chasidic endorsements, prominent non-chasidic Orthodox rabbis have made a show of support for Mr. Zeldin. Rabbi Yisroel Reisman, the rosh yeshiva of a historic yeshiva in Brooklyn, Torah Vodaath, announced his support on Sunday alongside the Flatbush Jewish Community Coalition.“To us, it’s yeshivas, yeshivas, yeshivas,” Rabbi Reisman said on Sunday, in a video shared by Yeshiva World News. Rabbi Reisman told the Sun that this was his first public endorsement. He says he and his colleagues felt compelled to endorse Mr. Zeldin because of the yeshiva issue. “We feel that this case threatens our ability to exist in New York State as a religious community,” Rabbi Reisman said.In a dramatic letter on Sunday, three prominent upstate rabbis from Rockland and Sullivan counties endorsed Mr. Zeldin, and warned of the consequences of the Regents’ regulations.“The New York State government has now declared itself in charge of, and responsible for, the education of our precious sons and daughters,” the letter read. “They are advocating and forcing the mosdot [institutions] to add more secular subjects to the curriculum, which would be at the expense of the time for limudei kodesh [religious studies.]”The letter goes on to say “it is possible that this will also force us to include kfira [heresy] and other abominations into the curriculum.” The rabbis also support the Republican congressional candidate in 17th district, Michael Lawler, who is in a tight-race with Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney.Meanwhile, Ms. Hochul has won two endorsements from the chasidic world: one from the Satmar of Kiryas Yoel and a second from the Skverer community, worth about 4,000 votes at the Rockland County village of New Square. On Sunday, the governor paid a visit to the grave of the Lubavitcher rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson. She promised to “honor the great traditions and forms of education” in the Jewish community.An editor of the Orthodox Mishpacha Magazine, Yochonon Donn, spoke on a recent podcast about the excitement in the Orthodox world for Mr. Zeldin. “The only time I’ve seen such a buzz about a race is by [President] Trump 2020,” Mr. Donn said. “People are really worked up about Lee Zeldin right now.”

Why the Orthodox Community Is Flocking to Zeldin

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