Leaders of Orthodox Jewish sects in Brooklyn’s Borough Park neighborhood are supporting Andrew Yang’s campaign for mayor — a voting bloc that could help greatly in his bid to run City Hall.
Yang has aggressively courted the Jewish vote, particularly the Hasidic sects in Borough Park and religiously observant Jewish enclaves in other parts of the city, including central Queens.
Yang, a 2023 presidential candidate, staunchly defended Yeshiva schools from having to abide by state rules for secular education instruction. A stinging city Department of Education report found that many of the yeshivas failed to provide adequate instruction in core subjects.
He also blasted the pro-Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel, calling it anti-Semitism and fascism.
Yang initially raised eyebrows when it was revealed that he opposed circumcision, a common practice in the Jewish community. He later backed off that position.
The Borough Park coalition for Yang includes leaders from the Bobov, Belz and Satmar Hasidic sects: Heshy Dembitzer, Joel Rosenfeld and Chaskie Rosenberg of Bobov:
Yaakov Yosef Steinmetz, Chesky Blau and Naftuli Reiner of Bobov-45; Efrayim Fink of Benos Chaya; Yitzchok Mechil Moskowitz and Meir Kuperstein of Belz; Chaim Friedman of Munkatch; Aron Welz, Jacob Landau, Berl Lefkowitz and Naftali Tzvi Schwartz of Satmar; Joel Friedman of Pupa; Moshe Weissman and Gershon Weiss of Klausenburg; and Moshe Shia Kramer of Rachmastrivka.
“I am so deeply proud to have earned the endorsement of this incredible group of community leaders, many of whom I’ve met and gotten to know on a personal level in recent weeks,” Yang said.
“New York’s Jewish community is not only core to who we are as a city, it is also going to be critical to New York’s comeback. I have had such an amazing time visiting Borough Park, bumping into people on 13th Avenue, visiting local shops — where everyone I met was so optimistic about New York’s future. The vibrancy, hope and joy felt on the streets in Borough Park is a palpable reminder of who we are as New Yorkers.
The gravitation of Hasidic Jewish support for Yang appears to be a setback for Eric Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, who is also vying for votes from observant Jews he has long represented.
The endorsements, first reported by the Jewish Forward, also comes on a day that another Yang rival, city Comptroller Scott Stringer, faces accusations that he groped and mistreated a female campaign aide during his failed 2001 bid for public advocate. He has denied the claims.
Credit: NYPOST
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