They came this past Sunday to Lipschutz Halls on 14th Avenue in Boro Park wearing their best kippot and armed with anecdotes and a sampling of Hebrew words. Elected officials and community leaders from across New York City spoke to 100 guests and 13 honorees at the Boro Park Jewish Community Council’s legislative and community tribute breakfast.
New York City Public Advocate Letitia James, a Crown Heights resident, addressed the audience with a hearty “boker tov.” Councilman Mark Levine (D-Washington Heights), chairman of the Jewish Caucus in the City Council, began his remarks by saying “Todah rabbah…” Councilman Brad Lander (D-Boro Park, Park Slope) used the word “chesed” during his remarks, referring to the first responders who came to the rescue on October 3 when an explosion occurred at 4206 13th Avenue.
Besides Lander and Levine, there were three others Council members on hand – David Greenfield (D-Boro Park, Midwood), Mathieu Eugene (D-Kensington, parts of Crown Heights, Flatbush), and Chaim Deutsch (D-Brighton Beach, Manhattan Beach, Midwood, Sheepshead Bay.)
U.S. Senator Charles Schumer not only wore his yarmulke but used the phrase “gut a vacht.” When the crowd got noisy as people seemed more interested in networking than hearing Schumer’s remarks, New York’s senior senator bellowed, “sheket b’vakashah.”
Schumer got serious when discussing the Middle East, specifically Syria, Iran, and Israel.
“Hizbullah is not as strong as it once was because of the war in Syria,” he said. “They lost 3,000 fighters, the little warlords in southern Lebanon who they pay off, they don’t have such money to pay off.”
On the topic of Iran, Schumer reminded the audience he voted against the Iran nuclear agreement and said our job is not over.
The U.S., he said, will be able “to impose sanctions on Iran if they are doing things that violate [the] agreements such as supporting terrorism, such as trying to rebuild Hizbullah, which is probably the greatest threat other than a nuclear Iran to the land of Israel…. We have to be very vigilant and I will be making sure in a bipartisan way – Democrats and Republicans – we keep an eye on this, we get reports on this and if Iran continues to do what it has done, we try to impose further sanctions, which are allowed and in effect, by law, on Iran.”
Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson stopped by to give a two-minute greeting stating, “I want you to know that I am committed to keeping the people of Brooklyn, the people of the Jewish community safe. What we have to do here in Brooklyn is to make sure that no Jewish person walking down the street is attacked because of hate. I intend to continue to be a strong partner with the Jewish community.”
Congressman Jerrold Nadler was in attendance but did not speak. Assemblyman David Weprin came in from Queens.
Assemblyman Dov Hikind introduced the recipient of the Distinguished Public Service award, Rabbi Joel Rosenfeld, inter-government relations director for the Bobov community.
“I have the zechus, the honor, to recognize someone who is so real in a world where there is not that much of real,” said Hikind. “A person who is so dedicated and devoted working on behalf of his own organization, representing tens of thousands of people…. [T]his is what life is really all about. It’s about doing. It’s about making a difference. It’s about being there for everybody. Not just the big shots but the little guy.”
Rosenfeld noted that “Bobov is the largest chassidic community in Boro Park. Bobov runs an education network where 5,000 children get educated every day. Actually this building [Lipschitz Halls] is the girls’ school of the Bobov community. I personally have five girls learning in this school. Bobov is a great organization.”
