Use your power now in New York to have a voice in your local community and state as well as nationally.
Do you want to fight antisemitism and the alarming rate of hate crimes against your people?
It is not done by attending an antisemitism seminar or reposting an article in an Instagram story and tagging your immediate world.
Are you challenged by the costs of food, fear of losing your savings or traveling abroad?
Then why aren’t you using your power to try and fix things?
History has proven that success often overturns failure and that as times change, what goes around, comes around. But it doesn’t happen by itself. It takes people like you and me to fix the problems.
The only way to ensure change for Jews is by Jews getting involved in legislation. The only way legislation gets introduced and passed is when lawmakers see constituents and donors come out and support them.
Around the country, candidates have been petitioning for spots on the ballot for the past month. Primaries are important because it should be “we the people” who decide who represents us and not a few party leadership people appointed to their positions.
Helping your candidate is as simple as signing the form. Offer to make phone calls 15 minutes a day and if possible give a small donation, even ten dollars.
People say the elections this year aren’t important. They are wrong. These are the most important elections. Local Elections Count! These officials are your neighbors. These politicians are approachable and will meet you about your concerns. Many go on to higher office, some end up as national representatives in Washington.
These local public figures attend your shul, school and community outings and hand proclamations to your rabbis, your Jewish organizations and stand front and center at celebrations and unfortunately press conferences after violence against Jews.
Who To Support
Don’t support someone just because they are Jewish. Vote for a Jewish person with a political history you can support
Don’t be afraid to run for office. First ensure you have funds and volunteers to back you before you start a campaign. It might be too late in some areas now, but it’s not too late to research the process or explore campaigns for school boards and other spots that vote later in the spring.
Don’t automatically vote for an incumbent
Do some research on every candidate
Try to meet every candidate
Include discussions about local issues with neighbors
Remind people about primary information in your social media group chats
Make sure you are registered to vote and all of your information is updated
Find out where your Board of Elections is located and the people there
- Important people in charge
- Important dates and deadlines
- Absentee ballot deadlines
- Mail in ballot dates
Don’t be afraid to speak up. Silence means you have nobody to blame but yourself when something happens.
Meet The Leadership
Many people locally have a voice in how you live. They have a voice in your sanitation collection, library books and fixing the potholes overtaking the streets you have to drive on to reach your job, supermarket and bank. They are local legislators and councilmen.
There are others behind the scene who have power too. They are committee members and the staff of the county chairs. You should meet them, possibly join them and have a voice too. If a county chair sees you as a voice with the power to bring votes and donors, even small ones, to the table, you have a window of opportunity to make a difference.
The problem is that too many Jews, especially Orthodox women, aren't even registered to vote. And younger Jews are basing their decisions on social media influencers, who often share more opinion than fact. They are also new to activism, misusing their fight against antisemitism as a stepping stone for careers in fashion, beauty and entertainment. Ask many of them about 2015 and the Iran Nuclear Deal and they don’t know the facts or players. Many can’t name their own local leadership or even their congressman.
At this time of year, as we recall the path to freedom and we ask questions at our "eve of order", let’s work together to ensure Jews have the power they need at all levels of government at the start of the election process - now.
If anyone needs information about primary voting you can reach out at [email protected]
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