A rabbi running for an open Assembly seat in Queens believes he is the one to lead the Republican Party into the promised land.
Orthodox Rabbi David Hirsch will face Democrat Sam Berger next month in a special election in north-central Queens and insisted his record makes him the chosen candidate.
“I think it gives me some ideas on a variety of issues, particularly those related to religious freedoms and sensitivity to all religions,” Hirsch, 34, told The Post.
Hirsch was ordained a priest in 2019 after three years of study at Yeshivas Ohr HaChaim in Kew Gardens.
If elected, he would be the first rabbi elected to the Assembly.
Brooklyn State Senator Simcha Felder is also a rabbi.
“It gives you a new way of looking at things and how to analyze them and find a solution,” he said of his rabbinic studies.
Hirsch said that, if elected, he planned to join a synagogue in Albany and would be prepared to minister to fellow lawmakers.
Republicans are pinning their hopes on Rabbi David Hirsch winning a seat in the Queens Assembly. Aristide Economopoulos
“If anyone wants that, I’d be happy to offer it,” he said, adding that he drew inspiration from Moses in the book of Exodus to make laws.
“Moses follows the advice to take 70 people to help him judge the people. You can’t concentrate too much power. That’s a good way to run a government to make sure there’s proper representation and feedback,” he said.
Hirsch, who is not a practicing rabbi and makes a living as an independent education policy consultant, said his top priorities would be crime, the immigration crisis and education.
Orthodox Rabbi David Hirsch (pictured) will face Democrat Sam Berger next month in a special election in north-central Queens. Aristide Economopoulos
“I want to replace cashless bail and replace it with proportional bail, which is set based on the severity of the offense and the number of offenses,” Hirsch said. “We can’t have the catch and release system that we have now.”
The seat opened last month after Democratic Assemblyman Dan Rosenthal resigned to take up a position at the United Jewish Federation of Jewish Philanthropy of New York and Gov. Hochul called a special election to be held on September 12.
The district is over 30% Asian and 35% White, with a significant number of religious Jews.
Queens Assembly seat left open after Democratic Assemblyman Dan Rosenthal resigns.assembly.state.ny.us
The Hirsch team said they had already raised “several thousand dollars” since opening their campaign committee earlier this month.
Berger, who is also Jewish, is a 25-year-old law graduate from St. John’s University in Queens who has been endorsed by Rosenthal.
The outgoing assemblyman has been calling on labor and advocacy groups to help keep the seat in Democratic hands, Politico reported in July.
State Senator Simcha Felder is also an ordained rabbi.AP
The north-central Queens enclave opted for President Biden in 2020, but former Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin won nearly 56% of the district’s voters in his race against Gov. Hochul in 2022.
The area includes Republican Party strongholds such as Whitestone and Flushing Meadow Park.
“David Hirsch is an extraordinary candidate for this State Assembly seat,” Zeldin, the grandson of an Orthodox rabbi, told The Post.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn