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DECEMBER 2, 2021 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home
Nachman Mostofsky and Chesky Moskowitz
Talk about Maps and Minorit y Groups BY SUSAN SCHWAMM
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achman Mostofsky, Executive Director and VP and Amariah, says he started working on the issue of redistricting and the Jewish vote ten years ago. At the time, he was working on David Storobin’s campaign in the State Senate. It bothered him that after the community came out and voted in a certain way, the powers that be – with the stroke of a pen – were able to divide our community into what seemed like arbitrary lines. In fact, Storobin’s State Senate district was divvied up into two or even three parts. Mostofsky points out that there are certain minority districts, in which a majority of a district is one single minority, which goes back to the Civil Rights Act. The Jewish community is not considered a “minority” when it comes to Civil Rights Act and redistricting. “I don’t understand,” he says. “We’re one-percent of the country. Who else is considered more of a minority than our community? The Amish?” Even more than that, it’s our shared values that should justify us to be considered a minority group – that’s what connects us. “We’re a people, an ethno-religion,” Mostofsky adds, “in a way like the Yazidi and the Uyghurs in China.” In fact, when it comes to education law, New York State considers Orthodox Jews a minority under the Civil Rights Act. Why, then, he wonders, is the Orthodox community not given the allowance to be considered a minority when it comes to redistricting? In 2017, Mostofsky and Chesky Moskowitz, a community activist who lives in Bayswater, NY, met with Scott Walker. Walker then became the National Finance Chair for the National Republican Redistricting Trust. The Trust was formed to combat President Obama’s Attorney General Eric Holder’s efforts to sue states to force them to redistrict.
Chesky Moskowitz, left, and Nachman Mostofsky meeting with President Trump
Mostofsky and Moskowitz looked at the 2016 election map, pointing out to Leader Kevin McCarthy and to Rep. Tom Emmer that the Jewish community votes, by and large, Republican but is registered as Democrat. In New York, many people choose to register as Democrats so they can participate in the Democrat primaries. But if the Orthodox Jewish community would be able to be influential in their districts be-
“The map that is going around, the ‘Republican’ map, that was the map that I had drawn on my phone.”
cause they are there in strong numbers – with the right redistricting lines – then they can register as Republicans and put up formidable Republican candidates who can actually win elections in New York and send Republican representatives to Washington. Mostofsky also contends that by sending representatives to Congress that truly represent our values, we would be showing the nation the values that Jews uphold.
“This would stop anti-Semitism,” he declares. “I’m involved with a lot of movements, and I’m close with a lot of figures around the nation. But the problem is, if you’re a non-Jew living in Kentucky or Mississippi, all you know about Jews is Jerry Nadler, and that creates animosity towards Jews. But if we had a staunch conservative, like Matt Gaetz, representing our community, that would go a long way.” With these assertions in mind, Mostofsky decided to put pen to paper and drew a map that would give an advantage to the Orthodox Jewish vote in New York. According to him, “The map that is going around, the ‘Republican’ map, that was the map that I had drawn on my phone. I can show you the original drawing.” He adds that because the independent redistricting commission “liked his map” so much, they used the same idea in drawing lines in Rockland County. Mostofsky says that redistricting is so important to him – and so vital for the community – that he and his associates are prepared to “go to court,” if warranted. “We’re prepared to go all the way,” he says. “There are many young activists in the community who are very bothered by this,” Moskowitz adds. “We follow daas Torah to the best of our ability, but at the same time, we wonder why we are forced to work with people who don’t truly represent our community. “It’s one thing to say, ‘OK, we need to work with them because there’s nothing else we can do. But that’s absolutely false. We can work to create better opportunities for ourselves. We live in America, in a medina shel chessed. We have a voice, and we have the ability to effect change.” To reach out to Chesky Moskowitz or to Nachman Mostofsky, email nachman@amariah.org.
