FLATBUSH: Elected Officials Ask for Communal Support at FJCC Pre-Election Breakfast [PHOTOS]

(By: Sandy Eller)

With just hours remaining until Election Day, elected officials headed to the OHEL offices on Sunday morning, taking advantage of an opportunity to speak directly to community leaders at a legislative breakfast hosted by the Flatbush Jewish Community Coalition.

Opening the breakfast, FJCC chairman Josh Mehlman and honorary chairman Malcolm Hoenlein both emphasized the importance of getting the Jewish community to cast their ballots and to support candidates who support the community’s needs, a theme that was echoed by several speakers.

Taking time out of his hectic schedule as the highest-ranking Jewish official in American history, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer spoke warmly about starting his career in the area and the long-standing, personal relationships he shares with community leaders and virtually every Jewish institution and organization in Flatbush. Schumer discussed his unique ability in the Senate to advance causes that are crucial to the local Jewish community, most recently advocating for its needs during COVID by securing PPP funding for religious institutions, including many Flatbush yeshivas, and removing a Biden administration cap on the number of allowable dependents per family for stimulus checks, paving the way for significant financial assistance. With anti-Semitism continuing to rear its ugly head in Brooklyn, Schumer also spoke about the millions of dollars he secured for nonprofit security grants, an effort that continues to benefit local yeshivas and shuls of all sizes.

Addressing another topic that remains close to his heart, Schumer discussed his efforts as a champion of the State of Israel. As a Democrat, Schumer said that he has used his position as majority leader to keep the party pro-Israel, convincing all 50 of his members to support Iron Dome, while simultaneously keeping support for Israel a bi-partisan issue in the Senate. Senator Schumer also met last week with the FJCC executive board at the home of chairman Josh Mehlman.

Assemblywoman Helene Weinstein expressed her wholehearted support of yeshiva education and discussed how she has used her position as chair of the Assembly’s Ways and Means Committee to advance causes that are important to her constituents, including taking the chair of the New York State Education Committee on a tour of various local yeshivas and girls’ schools. Weinstein, the Assembly’s third highest ranking member, also emphasized the importance of Republican voters crossing party lines to support moderate Democrats, noting that “if we are not there, there is no block to some of the crazy ideas” proposed by the more progressive and liberal Democrats.

Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, who represents more Orthodox Jews than any other member of Congress, said that she has listened closely to her constituents who are concerned about their safety and security, describing her support for Israel’s Iron Dome at every budget vote, her anti-BDS stance and her staunch commitment to combat hatred and bias which have reached record levels. Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz highlighted his long history speaking up on behalf of the issues that matter most to his constituents, and said that he looked forward to using his seniority in the Assembly to continue advancing those causes.

Describing frustrations he has heard from many constituents, Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein spoke passionately about the importance of voting as a community in order to advance common goals, sharing that elected officials notice which populations vote and which ones sit out the elections. City Councilman Ari Kagan articulated the need to unequivocally oppose anti-Semitism and to vote for candidates based on their actions and not their campaign promises, a sentiment that City Councilman Kalman Yeger described as “voting intellectually.” Yeger, a Democrat, argued that while there is currently a strong pro-Republican sentiment in the community, Orthodox voters are intelligent enough to pick and choose candidates who support our community, a far better choice on Election Day than voting down the line Republican, punishing Democrats who are allied with our community because of the anti-Semitism of the few.

“We have to respect, appreciate, admire and we have to be makir tov in a very real way to those who stand up and deliver for us,” added Yeger. “You cannot punish the Democratic party as a whole.”