Now that we are past Election Day, I think the clearest message to come out of the elections is “Just Show Up.”
For the past three years, the New Jersey team of OU Advocacy– the public policy arm of the Orthodox Union–has reached out to the New Jersey Jewish community to stress the importance of voting. Having a strong community presence at the polls shows our elected officials we care about the issues that affect us. It gives voice to our message about the importance of Jewish education, tuition relief for our families, and other concerns.
When it comes to voting, it’s not hard to make a statement in New Jersey. Only 35 percent of New Jerseyans showed up at the polls this year – and that was more than last year. Imagine if our community came out in force and everyone voted. That would send a clear message to our elected officials that they should pay attention to our needs.
People often say, “If you don’t vote, you can’t complain.” We complain about our taxes. But what do we do about it? In the past six months, two members of our community ran for Town Council, one in Teaneck and one in West Orange. Both candidates lost by extremely narrow margins: 50 votes and 137 votes, respectively. They lost because not everyone went out to vote. Were you one of those individuals who stayed home instead of going to the polls?
Let’s look at New York. Many candidates with strong Jewish day school and yeshiva communities in their districts voiced their support for bringing tuition relief to day school and yeshiva families. Even Governor Cuomo expressed his support for bills that would help Jewish day school and yeshiva families.
With the exception of Assemblyman Gary Schaer, have you ever heard even one New Jersey elected official in any of the legislative districts with a yeshiva or Jewish day school community voice his or her support for Jewish education or tuition affordability?
And why would they? We don’t speak to them about it as we should and we don’t support them with our votes as we must.
The time has come for us New Jerseyans to wake up and smell the coffee. New Yorkers just passed the Smart Schools Bond Act – with more than 60 percent of the vote – which could provide up to $32 million to New York Jewish day schools and yeshivas for technology equipment. They receive tens of millions of dollars for CAP funding and security programs for their schools and are on the verge of obtaining a tax credit scholarship. In Pennsylvania, the Jewish community benefits from the Commonwealth’s two educational tax credit scholarship programs, which provide millions of dollars in scholarships to their day schools and yeshivas. In addition, Pennsylvania recently passed a law that helps day schools and yeshivas hire security guards.
Why are we surrounded by success yet have so little to show for it here in New Jersey? It’s certainly not because our day school/yeshiva population is too small. According to the Avi Chai Foundation’s recently released Day School Census, New Jersey’s day school and yeshiva population is the second largest in the nation.
So what can we do? How can our voices be heard to start obtaining the funding and/or tax relief for our families overburdened by their tuition obligations?
I have a solution. I believe the New Jersey Jewish community can make significant progress into making our voice heard by our state legislators by following these four simple steps:
- Make voting a top priority. If Jewish education is the cornerstone of our religion and the key to continuity, then we must treat it as such. Schools and synagogues alike must do their utmost to get out the vote in every election.
- Schools should assign parents to get out the vote. Just as schools have class parents handle extracurricular activities, they must appoint class parents who will make sure every parent in their class votes in every election.
- Synagogues should create committees to get out the vote. Just as synagogues have committees that deal with fundraising, programming, security, etc., they must have a committee that works to mobilize members to vote in every election.
- Cooperate with organizations that represent the community’s needs on the local, state, and national levels, such as OU Advocacy. When we ask for information that will help promote voting and lead to government aid for tuition, funding for Israel, and assistance with local issues, treat us as a partner and work with us to achieve success. Our primary goal is to help your students, your families, and your members.
