This year’s meet and greet hosted by the Rockland County chapter of Agudath Israel of America, featured a diverse assortment of food, schmoozing and speechifying by local, state and one national figure beamed in from Washington, DC. The event was held at the New City, Rockland County-based Paramount Country Club and attracted approximately 150 attendees.
Agudath Israel operates regional offices in nine states and has a Mid-Atlantic region office based in Silver Spring, Md., a Midwest office based in Chicago, Ill., and a West Coast office based in Los Angeles, Calif.
“Our goal is to do our job, as Hashem wants from us, to put in the effort. It is not the result that he is looking for. That He has to give us with his kindness that we should be able to achieve,” said Rabbi Shragi Greenbaum, director of the Rockland County regional office of Agudah (also serving Westchester, Orange, Sullivan and Ulster counties). “Sometimes a person’s goal in life, his struggle, is to keep on trying and get through the struggle in and of itself. I appreciate all of you for continuing your efforts. Everybody here has their own purpose.”
Picking up on the theme of kindness and trying to do what you can to better someone’s life was the only state Senator to attend the event.
“Some of the most important work we do is helping our constituents every day. We closed nearly 3,000 cases of constituents’ needs,” said Senator Bill Weber (R – Montebello, Rockland County), ranking member of the Senate Disabilities Committee and a member of the Senate Education Committee.
“We had great victories this year. We finally got the financial equivalency date extended and we got a new pathway for [it]. We approved it in this year’s budget. We finally funded free meals for kids in K thru 12. A well-fed kid is a kid who is going to really learn well and we’re very proud to have gotten that done. The foundation aid formula was shortchanging Rockland County schools for nearly two decades. We finally made those changes. Not all of the changes were made. We’re still going to fight for the regional cost index to be changed, but the foundation aid formula brought $38 million more to our district in Rockland County. It brought $18 million to East Ramapo alone.”
Weber warned the group to be wary of the next mayor of the Big Apple.
“We need Governor Hochul to stop paling around with the antisemitic incoming mayor [Zohran] Mamdani. We have to keep our eye on him. He’s not a friend of the Jewish community. We need a check and balance on him in Albany against what he’s going to try to ram through in the city and what the governor may capitulate to,” Weber said. “My support and partnership with the Jewish community in Rockland is unafraid, unwavering, unseen before, maybe except for Congressman [Michael] Lawler, and will continue to flourish in many years to come.”
Lawler’s message to the Agudah supporters was pre-recorded and beamed in via satellite touting his successes in Washington, DC.
“During this session of Congress, I was proud to introduce the Antisemitism Awareness Act to give the Department of Education the clarity and tools they need to enforce existing laws and combat antisemitism. It’s about making sure Jewish students and families can go about their lives without fear and ensuring that schools and institutions of higher education take these threats seriously,” said Lawler (R – Pearl River, Rockland County). “I’ve also been proud to support the Educational Choice for Children Act. Empowering parents and expanding scholarship opportunities is essential for helping families access the educational choice that works best for their children. A tax credit supporting school choice was included in the working families’ tax cut bill providing families with more resources and access to scholarships. For so many in the Jewish community, especially in New York, this support is critical.”
After a couple other elected officials, Rockland County District Attorney Tom Walsh got to the lectern and proudly said he practiced saying Happy Chanukah in Yiddish. He then wishes the crowd a “frylick Chanukah.” At least it was close to the correct pronunciation (a fraylicha Chanukah). He’ll just have to work on it a bit more.
The message Walsh presented was more serious, though.
“I learned by listening to the rabbis that the light dispels darkness. By lighting the light for Chanukah, we push back darkness. We push back evil,” Walsh said. “One of the symbols of education is the lamp of knowledge and that lamp of knowledge, education, pushes back darkness, it pushes back evil and it creates understanding amongst people. It helps us fight something that is in Rockland County, the insidious problem of antisemitism. I am proud to push that light of knowledge and intolerance forward. Anything I can do to support the education for our children I stand with you.”
Agudah created its own promotional video for this event complete with overhead footage from a drone flying above neighborhoods. An anonymous narrator for the video touted a scripted narrative extolling the successes of Agudath Israel of America. “Individuals joining together. That’s the power of Agudah. All of us moving as one. Make your voice heard. Let’s join together.”