CHOOSE TO SHINE

Ban Jewish ritual slaughter for cruelty to animals. Allow circumcision only at 18 years old, the age of consent. Reduce Torah study by requiring all schools to teach many hours of secular subjects.  Boycott the State of Israel. Sue religious people for discrimination against certain customers.

Each of the above outrages are either already in practice in parts of the world, or are ideas pushed by progressive liberal political parties. Do you think that can never happen here in the United States?

We had a respite after World War II.  We enjoyed religious freedoms and unparalleled growth of Torah learning and our way of life. We are more free now to pursue our beliefs than at any other time in history. Yet we are still in exile.  In my 50 plus years I have witnessed the moral fabric of our society erode significantly. Things which were hidden and taboo only 25 years ago are now openly flaunted. The rise of the World Wide Web has given voice to the lowest common denominator.  The net result is that extremists on the left as well as the right enjoy more influence as their noise increases. We can no longer sit back and hope for the best. We must do our hishtadlus without delay or apathy. What can you do?

My wife and I have personally known Chaim Deutsch for over 30 years. He quickly rose to fame as the most responsive New York City Councilman (D-48).  I have witnessed him personally championing what he believes is right, if not popular. His fellow politicians respect his integrity, if not his positions.

Term limits prevent Chaim from running for the New York City Council again. He has chosen to run for Congress (NY-9). His current competitor was nearly unseated in the last election, and is uniquely vulnerable.  The seat is also being sought by a candidate endorsed by AOC, at the heart of the extreme liberal movement and calling themselves “Democratic Socialists”. I believe that the current Congressperson will be unseated. That seat will likely go to someone on the far left, or it will go to Chaim. He has the best chance of winning the Democratic Primary to be held this June 23rd, 2020, from 6:00 am until 9:00 pm. (Put it in your calendar right now.) You can even vote early from June 13-21. For Chaim to win, it will require his core constituency turns out in real numbers to vote. There were 30,552 votes cast in the 2018 Congressional Democratic primary.  16,000 votes will likely win this upcoming primary.  Historically whoever wins the Democratic Primary wins the General Election.  

We can take this seat if we show up and vote.  Chaim already has the backing of the Asian and Russian communities.  Will he have the active support of the Jewish community on primary day? Are we even registered to vote? Every single vote counts. If you and your spouse and children can not show up on election day, make sure to send in absentee ballots. I understand having strong objections to registering with a political party which espouses ideas antithetical to our values.  But these are critical times in the history of this country. This is our best chance to put someone who does represent our values in office. Chaim has demonstrated backbone and courage over and again, and he will do great things in the United States House of Representatives. He can only do that if we turn out in numbers and vote as a bloc in the primary election.  It only takes 5 minutes, and the polls are open 

The prior race for the 9th District was won by 1075 votes, or less than four percent.  The race for Queens DA was won by only 60 votes out of 91,000 (including absentee and affidavit ballots). The progressives led by Bernie Sanders and AOC are gaining ground, and could soon overtake enough seats in Congress to do incredible damage to our way of life. It your pivotal, solemn duty to cast your vote in the upcoming primary to help support the candidate who will fight for our values.  

The opinions stated here are solely that of the author.