“This win is not my personal win. It belongs to the entire community. It proves that with Achdus we can and will IYH accomplish a lot.”

Those are the words that Aaron Ben Zion Wieder wrote to me when I asked him for a reaction to the Primary Day results released just days ago.

Mr. Wieder, formally the Vice President and temporarily the President of the Board of Education (BOE) at the East Ramapo Central School District (ERSCD), was a candidate to the Rockland County Legislature on the Democratic Line against the current incumbent, a well-known Haitian American. Wieder however won the Democrats’ Primary. Additionally, Mr. Wieder won the Republican and Independent lines as a write-in candidate. In November, Wieder will be on the above three line while the current incumbent will be on the Working Families line with diminished chances of surviving this coup.

On the surface, the results of last week Tuesday appear as a “typical win” for the Jewish community in Monsey/Spring Valley. As some detractors would suggest, Jews vote in a bloc and as such they can win whatever they want. Sadly, some within our own circles also think that a win for a candidate happens in a vacuum; it happens to the wish of a few power players while the public follows with zero options to disagree.

This conventional wisdom is however contrary to what actually takes place before the successful elections that the Orthodox and Hasidic Communities in Rockland prove to pull off almost every year for more than a decade now. Let’s just look at Wieder’s background as a sample:

First, Wieder ran a few years ago to be a member of the BOE at the ERSCD. He lost. Ask him why, he will admit that he was one of those who thought that things happen by default. He however learned that he needs the grass roots support of members in the community. He learned that in order for community activists and advocates to lend him a hand, he needs to prove him self as someone who understand what the community needs.

A year later Aaron won a three year term to the Board. Each year since, the Orthodox/Hasidic members won handily the School Board elections and budget battles.

This past May, Mr. Wieder was up for re-election to the School Board, but due to his nature of “rocking the boat,” meaning, not letting things at status quo with a cost to residence and a loss to students, Wieder’s name was used by some to steer up emotions against the Orthodox Community. To avoid a loss for him and the other two community members on the ballot, Mr. Wieder decided against another term, and BH the favorable candidates won the election.

In other words: Aaron gave up a step in order to give two steps for the community.

This approach takes place in almost every election here in Rockland County. Community activists and advocates each have different opinions as to who will be a better Sheriff, a better Judge, a better Town Council member. Hefty negotiations; feedback from average community members and forfeiting egos take place before consensus candidates emerge. When they do, heavy lifting is done in order to see people to the polls. Rabbis don’t sign Fatwas that people just follow through on Election Day. Instead, candidates, their teams and community activists make their case to the public in many forms in order to get their support. Massive, joint get-out-the-vote drives are activated in order to pull off wins. Nothing, as I wrote earlier, happens in a vacuum.

The Rockland County election results can be a great moment for community leaders and activists in other Jewish areas to observe and learn how to proceed in similar situations. Achdus, as Ben Zion said, is what counts. When people are ready to back off a step, they will ultimately give two steps for the community and that is something which everyone – who has the public’s good at heart – should be willing to do.

Yossi Gestetner is a New York-Based Writer and Marketing Consultant in the Orthodox Jewish/Hasidic Communities. His Firm “Gestetner & Co” Serves Political, Charitable and Corporate accounts. Yossi can be reached via [email protected]

NOTE: The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of YWN.

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