Agudath Israel of Monsey, Rockland County, hosted its second meet-and-greet gathering last week at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Suffern. The organization opened its office in Monsey about two years ago with Rabbi Shragi Greenbaum, 64, serving as regional director.
The gathering was aimed at fostering relationships with local governments and the many communities, neighborhoods and villages in the area.
Among the 150 people in attendance were 32 elected officials and dignitaries from the religious Jewish communities of New Hempstead, Airmont, Monsey, Chestnut Ridge, Pomona, Ramapo, East Ramapo and Clarkstown. Also in attendance were countywide officials such as the district attorney, county clerk, a state senator, two assemblymen, a congressman and the human rights commissioner. Two former assemblymen and a former state senator, who is looking for a rematch with the incumbent to regain his seat, were in the audience.
The networking event, by all accounts, met its intended goal.
“The explosive growth rate of this community over the last several years, the explosive rate is something we should all take tremendous pride in,” said Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, executive vice president of Agudah. “At Agudath Israel of America we regard it as our holy obligation to work with local communities especially a community like this one, and help set it on its feet to expand in many ways.
“Of course, with growth comes growing pains and there are growing pains. There’s no question about it. We need to have the type of effective advocacy that Rabbi Greenbaum has brought to the table as the director of our Rockland County office. We need that type of devoted energy to speak up on behalf of our yeshivas, on behalf of our synagogues, our institutions of charitable giving. All of these things that are of such prominent features of this beautiful, growing explosive community.”
The county district attorney offered brief, supportive remarks.
“Good will prevail in Rockland County. We have fought the good fight and we will continue to do so,” Rockland County District Attorney Tom Walsh told the packed room. “By fighting that fight in Rockland, we will be that shining torch, a candle, that will spread goodness throughout the country and the world.”
State senator for Rockland County Bill Weber (R – Montebello, Rockland County) focused his remarks on plans to combat antisemitism on college campuses and in the classroom when the legislative session resumes next month.
“[About] discriminatory behavior – we’re introducing legislation to withhold TAP [Tuition Assistance Program] funds. We are committed to holding the SED [State Education Department] accountable regarding their push for substantial equivalency to recognize it is another form of discrimination. Taxpayers will no longer pay for children to go to college and do antisemitic activities and we’re not going to pay for it on our dime,” he said.
“The Dismantling Student Antisemitism Act. I’m a lead cosponsor advocating for mandatory sensitivity training at institutions for higher learning. We’ve seen the poison on college campuses these days and we need to make sure the administrators and college presidents know that what is occurring on college campuses is wrong and we need to make sure we fight it head on.”
Weber also highlighted he will push for an increase in security funding and childcare credit during the budget process.
“In addition to these initiatives, I’ve called for increased security funding for Jewish schools and houses of worship urging Governor Hochul to allocate funds to municipalities with large Jewish populations for their security budgets. It’s very important. Recognizing the need to expand childcare credit both in the state and federal government is extremely important and something I will work towards as well,” he said.
Another Albany elected official told the audience he’s revved up and ready to go back to work on legislative matters next month.
John McGowan (R – Pearl River, Rockland County), a member of the Assembly Education Committee, addressed education choice. “Private education is a choice and it is a fundamental choice that I believe all parents have. It is as important as any rights we have under our law. As a practicing attorney and former prosecutor, it is something that has been my privilege to advocate for and to fight to protect in the New York State Assembly.”
A prominent Agudah member stressed unity regardless of party affiliation.
“There isn’t one party that has a monopoly on good governance. Good governance requires the contribution of all,” said Chaskell Bennett, a trustee of Agudath Israel, activist and business owner. “The battle of good versus evil is upon us. We need friends in high elected office. We need friends on both sides of the aisle in every statehouse and every legislative body in the country. Agudath Israel was very proud to work with both Democrats and Republicans for the betterment of the Jewish community and the entire community.”
Bennett turned his praise toward Congressman Mike Lawler, noting that the Rockland Republican is not a Johnny-come-lately to the issues currently facing the Jewish community.
“Strong voices were willing to stand up and not shy away. Not apologetic to stand up for the Jewish community based on what is right such as being against antisemitism, against discrimination, against bigotry and against the American way. People like Mike Lawler have earned and deserve our support. Not just Israel. Not just antisemitism. Congressman Mike Lawler, as an assemblymember, as a congressman has stood up for everything this community believes in. He hasn’t shied away from the big fights. Yeshiva education, safety and security, special needs children,” Bennett added.
Lawler, a Pearl River resident, focused his remarks on school choice, antisemitism, the Israel-Hamas War and his accomplishments in Congress.
“Education is vital and every child in our country deserves a quality education. Every child in our country deserves to have access to a school of their choosing,” Lawler, who attended public schools and was forced to go through second grade twice, said. “I’m a product of public schools. I support our public schools. I fought to fully fund our public schools when I was a state legislator. I also believe in the right of parents, not bureaucrats, to make the decisions that are in the best interest of their child and if it means sending their child to a yeshiva, then I support that. I believe in school choice. I believe in the rights for parents to educate their children as to how they see fit,” he added.
“I support yeshiva education. I support Catholic schools. I support private schools. I support charter schools. I support public schools. I support the EITC [Earned Income Tax Credit]. That is a position I’ve held for years, as long as I’ve been in politics. I believe that we have to foster the opportunity for every child to get the education that best serves them,” Lawler said.
Lawler also addressed the responses given by three college presidents recently to a congressional panel.
“It makes it all the more important that we deal with the challenges in education. Antisemitism is taught. Hatred of Jews is taught. What we are seeing on college campuses across America and around the world is taught,” Lawler said. “When three college presidents sit before Congress and cannot answer a very simple question, ‘Is calling for the genocide of Jews a violation of your code of conduct?’ The only answer is yes. The answer that we got was, ‘It depends on the context.’ There needs to be action associated with it? Are you out of your ever-loving minds? What action are you looking for? Do you actually want the genocide to occur? That is a result of these college campuses becoming breeding grounds of antisemitism. If you cannot define it, it makes it very difficult to enforce the law. What you saw from the response from those administrators, those college presidents, they can’t define antisemitism. If you think about any other group racial, ethnic or otherwise, they would have very clearly condemned it but with antisemitism they didn’t find their way towards having a clear understanding of it.”
Lawler voiced an unequivocal support of Israel.
“I want the Palestinian people to be free. I want them to be free from their oppressors – Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. When people say Israel is an apartheid state, Israel is not an apartheid state. It is the only multicultural, multireligious, multiethnic democracy in the Middle East. It is a beacon of hope and freedom for the world and they are our greatest ally in the world,” Lawler said. “We, in the United States, have a responsibility to not only stand by the state of Israel, stand shoulder to shoulder with them, but to ensure that Israel has the support and the resources it needs to defend itself and to defend its right to exist.”
Lawler ebulliently touted a measure President Biden is likely to sign into law.
“The creation of the Special Envoy for the Abraham Accords, which will become law, creates an ambassador rank to focus on the normalization of relations between Israel and Arab-majority countries with the main focus of getting Saudi Arabia to the table,” Lawler, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said.
Meanwhile, he said, “Iranian petroleum sales are up 59 percent in the last two-and-a-half years. Iran is the greatest state sponsor of terrorism and they fund 93 percent of Hamas’s budget. They use the funds from the proceeds of the sale of Iranian petroleum to fund terrorism,” Lawler, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said.
“China is the largest purchaser of Iranian petroleum. What has occurred is an unholy alliance with China, Russia and Iran. Everyone should understand none of them are our friends. They are not our allies and we need to be smart about what we are doing in dealing with this malign influence.”
Speaking to The Jewish Press about Hamas and Israel, Lawler said, “Hamas is a terrorist organization. It has been the governing body of Gaza for almost two decades. It is corrupt and it needs to be eliminated. The Palestinian people have been oppressed by their own government. We want to have Israel and the Palestinians to be able to coexist, to live in peace and freedom. It starts by dealing with the cause of the unrest and that is Hamas. There have been eight ceasefires in the last 15 years, each time violated by Hamas. Israel wants peace. In order to forge peace with the Palestinians, obviously you need to eliminate Hamas as the ruling body in Gaza.”
He feels that Saudi Arabia seems to be one of the keys to solidifying peace in the Middle East.
“I honestly believe the Abraham Accords is the most substantial foreign policy initiative in decades. If we want long-term peace and prosperity in the Middle East, then the focus is on normalizing relations between Israel and Arab-majority countries. It has so far been successful but it needs to grow,” Lawler said. “Ultimately, we need to get Saudi Arabia to the table. Ultimately, if we want to deal with the Palestinians, Saudi Arabia is going to have to help play a role there. We need to forge that relationship with Saudi Arabia and Israel so we can focus on a lot of the other challenges.”
Relating his own set of challenges, Lawler explained to The Jewish Press why he has become more moderate in recent years after serving as the executive director of the New York Republican State Committee and now cosponsoring legislation with left-wing Democrats.
“I live in a district that Joe Biden won by 10 points. That’s 70,000 more Democrats than Republicans. I don’t win a district like this without reaching out to people of all political persuasions. More to the point, it is who I am,” Lawler said.
Lawler is also fighting for his political life in next years’ elections. Former Congressman Mondaire Jones and MaryAnn Carr, both Democrats, have announced bids to unseat him. MaryAnn Carr is a member of the Bedford Town Council in Westchester County.
