Yeshiva World News

The first mayoral forum to be held for the Jewish community in Brooklyn is being held this week Wednesday, hosted by the Jewish Press newspaper. Democratic candidates Christine Quinn, Bill de Blasio, Bill Thompson and john Liu have confirmed their participation.

@jewishpress hosting Mayoral Forum Wed 8 PM by the Manhattan Beach Center 60 W. End Ave Bklyn. No registration/$ needed #JPForum. Please RT

— Jewish Reporter(@JewishReporter) May 26, 2013

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(Jacob Kornbluh – YWN)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu endorsed the campaign of Jewish businessman Meyer Habib for a seat in the French parliament, JTA reports. Habib is relying on the vote of 65,000 French citizens living in Israel.

“I have known Meyer Habib for many years and he is a good friend to me and to Israel,” Netanyahu said in French in a video posted on YouTube.

Standing next to Habib, Netanyahu continued in Hebrew: “He fights a lot for Israel, for public opinion and cares intensely about the Land of Israel and Jerusalem and he has helped me over the years deepen Israeli-French relations … We need to let him represent this bond in the best possible way. Go vote!”

The election is scheduled to take place today.

Assemblyman Dov Hikind hosted a biannual fundraiser at the Orchidëa restaurant in Borough Park, last Thursday night.

“I don’t know what to say other than that I was overwhelmed and exceedingly grateful for your generosity, and your sincere support,” Mr. Hikind wrote in a blog post Friday morning. “It was beautiful to see quite literally every faction of our community and beyond come together from the largest Chasidic groups to the Sephardic community.

It was the most successful event i have ever held,” said Mr. Hikind at the beginning of his radio show Saturday night.

According to some who attended the event, Yoni Hikind, Dov’s son who was seen as a possible successor until Purim of this year, spoke very warmly about his father and his personal devotion in serving the community throughout his 3 decade public service.

Senator Simcha Felder, Rabbi Mordy Melman, Dr Rabin Rahmani, Rabbi Chaim Glanz, Rabbi Elchonon Schwartz and local organizations’ heads were among the guests at the fundraiser. Also attending the fundraiser, were representatives of local yeshivas and mosdos who were asked, by  the office of Assemblyman Hikind, to each bring 2 contributors of $1800 to show their appreciation of Mr. Hikind’s help during his years in public service, our sources tell YWN.

Mr. Hikind’s campaign committee – Friends of Dov Hikind – had $1,034,665.88 cash on hand, according to the January 20103 disclosure report.

Photo: Dov Hikind blog

(Jacob Kornbluh – YWN)

Both current Democratic frontrunners, Christine Quinn and Anthony Weiner, best Republican favorite Joe Lhota in a general election matchup, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports poll. However, both of the Democratic candidates poll under 50% among NYC’s registered voters. Ms. Quinn leads Mr. Lhota 49-27. 11 prefer some other candidate and 13% remain undecided. In a possible Weiner/Lhota match-up, the Republican mayoral hopeful trails the Democratic nominee, in a city that the Democrats have a 4-1 registry advantage, by only 9 point – 41-32. Twelve percent prefer another candidate given this matchup. 15% are undecided.

According to the Rasmussen poll, Joe Lhota leads Anthony Weiner among white voters (42-40), Independent voters (37-34) and among married couples with kids (41-38). Lhota trails Weiner among married couples in general by only 5 points (41-36), and while he trails Weiner by 12 points among women (42-30), among men he trails by only 4 points (39-35).

Mr. Weiner gets the support of only 52% of Democrats, 10% of Republicans and 34% Independents while Mr. Lhota has the support of 71% of Republicans, 20% of Democrats and 37% of Independents.

Read more at NYC Elects

(Jacob Kornbluh – YWN)

Rand Paul appears to be a stronger Republican candidate in Iowa now than Rubio, according to the most recent Quinnipiac poll released Friday.

“Part of the reason may be the publicity from his recent high-profile visit to the state, but more likely is that he begins with a solid base of support — the folks who voted for his father in the 2008 and 2012 caucuses,” said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

The survey polled about a hypothetical match-up between Clinton or Biden and Rubio or Paul. While Clinton leads Rubio 48 percent to 37 percent, she is barely ahead of Paul with 46 percent to 42 percent. On the other hand, Vice President Joe Biden, a possible 2016 Democratic candidate, got 39 percent to Rubio’s 40 percent and trailed Paul 39 percent to 44 percent, the poll showed.

“The major difference between former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vice President Joseph Biden is that she runs much better among independent voters, Brown said. However, that is not the case when Rand Paul runs as the Republican nominee. In a hypothetical Clinton-Paul race, the poll showed Paul leading Clinton 44 percent to 38 percent among independent voters. Clinton won women 53 percent to 34 percent for Paul. Among men, 49 percent supported Paul to 39 percent for Clinton.

(Jacob Kornbluh – YWN)

Last night, a few dozen community leaders and activists assembled to hear State Senator Eric Adams, who’s the ultimate front runner in the race for Brooklyn Borough Hall, offer his vision about the future of the borough. It was also an opportunity for the candidate to listen to the concerns of the community and address the issues that matter to most on a daily basis.

The event was organized by councilman David Greenfield, who plans to do more meetings of this form for all of the candidates running in the citywide election.

(Jacob Kornbluh – YWN)

President Obama held a private meeting with top national security journalists on Thursday afternoon following his national security policy address at the National Defense University in Washington, POLITICO has learned.

Among those Present at the meeting were Thomas Friedman, the New York Times columnist; David Igantius, the Washington Post columnist; Jeffrey Goldberg, the Atlantic correspondent and Bloomberg View columnist; and Joe Klein, the Time Magazine columnist.

Obviously, the columnists are in line with President Obama’s foreign policy approach. The meeting signals an effort on part of Obama to defy the skeptics over his change of policy, seeking broad support for his actions on Syria and Iran.

The meeting, which was scheduled to last for one hour but lasted for two, was held in the Roosevelt Room of the White House.

(Jacob Kornbluh – YWN)

Veteran Jewish political operative Ira N. Forman, who served as the Jewish Outreach Director for President Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign, was named by Secretary of State john Kerry as the administration’s Special Envoy and head of the Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, The Jewish Week reports.

Mr. Forman was a founder and later executive director of the National Jewish Democratic Council from 1996 to 2010.  He was a legislative liaison and political director at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee from 1977 to 1981, when he left to go to Stanford University for his MBA.

During the Clinton administration he served as director of congressional relations in the Office of Personnel Management.

The position of Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism was created by the Global Anti-Semitism Review Act of 2004 and is a part of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL).

Announcing the new appointment, Kerry paid tribute to Forman as a longtime “champion of fair treatment for all, and he has worked extensively to combat intolerance”, as he wished him success as he prepared to embark on his “vitally important mission”.

In his first appearance on a Jewish outlet, Republican mayoral hopeful Joe Lhota told Michael Fragin, host of the political “Spin Class” radio show, that he’s all pro about Anthony Weiner’s entry into the mayoral race.

“Anthony and I have been friends for over 20 years. He is a man with good ideas. He has a tremendous amount of energy. He is considered a wild card in the Democratic party. So, anything that causes chaos in the Democratic Party is good for me,” said Mr. Lhota, when asked about Weiner.

Mr. Lhota also previewed Mr. Weiner’s path to victory, although it is the same base he’s relying on in the general election. “Anthony is going to run right down the middle and appeal to those Reagan Democratic voters. While the remaining candidates are all running to the left of each other, Anthony is going to be a voice of moderation,” Mr. Lhota told Fragin.

I just came across this archived radio show interview I conducted back in 2010 with Lori Lowenthal Marcus, the then Z-Street president, complaining the IRS has been targeting their pro-Israel group. Two years later as it becomes a national scandal, it’s important to go back to this particular interview, just to see how long it took.

The story, about the IRS declining to grant them a tax exempt as a 501-c, starts at minute 00:40:00

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/letstalkdugri/2010/11/30/the-bibi-report-show-on-israel

(Jacob Kornbluh – YWN)

Update to our story yesterday:

Declining to respond in person, Assemblyman Dov Hikind issued a statement on his personal blog, not too much of a picked up blog to start off with, denying his involvement in pushing Chaim Israel, his loyalist, to run for City Council in the 44th district.

“It has come to my attention that YeshivaWorldNews is up to its old tricks. It’s not difficult to create new names, new “Dov Gordons” and to even get someone to now claim responsibility for what they will write. There are people who, sadly, will do anything for money.,” Mr Hikind writes.

“I have never been shy about stating what’s on my mind nor praising those that deserve praise. I have never shied away from defending my community or the ideals that we hold dear. If I want to endorse someone, I will certainly do so here and to legitimate media outlets, as I have always done,” Mr Hikind angrily concluded.

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UPDATE II:
On The Dov Hikind show,Saturday night, Assemblyman Hikind denied any involvement in Chaim Israel’s expected council run against Councilman David Greenfield. “That is not accurate. That is not correct,” Mr. Hikind told a caller.

Mr. Hikind then turned to his co-host Dov Cohen mocking the caller and the information we gathered from reliable sources. “I wish i would know, Dov, where exactly that report came from… could it be that website.. what do you call it.. Yeshiva World? Because they are accurate about everything. .Ha ha..Right? They always get it right on the button,” said Mr. Hikind.

Audio:

Updated Sunday 05-26-2013 02:11am

(Jacob Kornbluh – YWN)

In a letter to fellow New Yorker residing in the City of New York, the NYC redistricting commission’s Executive Director Carl Hum announced the Department of Justice’s approval of the final City Council redistricting plan. “I am pleased to inform you that on May 20 the United States Department of Justice pre-cleared the NYC Districting Commission’s plan to divide New York City into fifty-one City Council districts… This means that the final districting plan can now be legally implemented throughout the City of New York,” Mr. Hum wrote.

The new council district lines will go into effect for the upcoming Council elections later this year. To see the final districting plan, including maps that you can use to determine the Council district in which you reside, you can access the Districting Commission’s website at http://www.nyc.gov/districting.

(Jacob Kornbluh – YWN)

Assembly Republicans today released a letter sent to the state’s major polling institutions – Siena, Marist and Quinnipiac – asking them to survey voters on whether they would support the creation of recall elections, Capital Tonight reports.

“While there has been statewide polling data on using taxpayer dollars to fund campaigns, to our knowledge the question has not been asked of New Yorkers whether they support or oppose recall legislation to give power to the people to remove elected officials,” Lawmakers – Jim Tedisco, Steve McLaughlin, Bill Nojay and Kieran Michael Lalor — write.

The lawmakers, who serve in the minority, acknowledge they don’t have the resources to push a statewide poll of their own on the recall topic. “Since we don’t have the wherewithal to do an independent statewide survey on this topic, we respectfully request that you add a question on recall to your next statewide public opinion poll,” they write.

Recall Letter to Siena Marist Quinnipiac

In his first TV interview since elected to the State Senate, Senator Simcha Felder told Liz Benjamin on Capital Tonight that he has no regret for conferencing with the Republican. “I am very happy to be part of that conference and am proud of Skelos’s leadership,” said Mr. Felder.

“The parties are non important to me, and its irrelevant to me about the consequences of who will win or lose. Ultimately, the issue is that I have been elected to serve the 17th district in Brooklyn. The only thing that is important to me is making sure I help the constituents and the taxpayers i represent, without hurting somebody else,” he said.

Ms. Benjamin further asked Mr. Felder whether he looks at the Democratic party, thanking G-d he didn’t join them, following the corruption scandals and arrests made? “At this time, I think, many of the Democrats in the Democratic conference would rather be in the Republican conference, considering what went on,” Mr. Felder responded. adding, “the answer is: Yes! I am much happier being where I am than where I could of been.”

Yet, Mr. Felder didn’t close the door joining the Democrats in the future if they retain the majority in the Senate. “I am not a loyal Democrat or a loyal Republican. For me being part of a conference or a group, the issue is how does it allows me to be able to deliver the most for the district I represent. If I felt they are the majority I would go back. But I’m hoping things will remain where they are because ideologically I am much more in sync with the Republican conservative ideology than with the Democratic ideology,” he said

A day after Anthony Weiner officially launched his candidacy for mayor on New York City, the first Rasmussen Reports poll of the Democratic mayoral primary field shows that Quinn is supported by 24% of registered Democrats. Weiner is only six points behind with 18% support. Public Advocate Bill de Blasio manages to stay in third place with 11% of the vote while former r Bill Thompson has dropped to single digits (8%). Comptroller John Liu currently attracts six percent (6%) support. Two percent (2%) back City Councilman Sal Albanese and five percent (5%) would prefer some other candidate. Twenty-seven percent (27%) are undecided.

Mr. Weiner’s hopes to at least get into the runoff, lies in his mere 34% favorability among all registered New Yorkers, according to the poll. If Mr. Weiner manages to best Quinn in a runoff and become the Democratic nominee for mayor, 16% of Registered Voters would definitely vote for him, while 27% would definitely vote against him.

For Quinn, the numbers are more positive—50% favorable and 34% unfavorable. Those include 19% with a Very Favorable opinion and 20% Very Unfavorable. Twenty-four percent (24%) would definitely vote for her in November, 24% against.

According to a detailed Quinnipiac poll released today, voters are still undecided about their definite preferences in the crowded field of mayoral candidates. No candidate, left or right, has managed so far to impress or break the ceiling of support. Yet when asked about their views on the issues that most concern them in this election cycle, issues that will ultimately have an impact over the future of the city, voters seem to be more decisive.

While the continuation of the current practice of ‘Stop and Frisk’ is debatable, 45 percent of NYC voters are more likely to support someone who would create a Police Department inspector general to oversee the polices conduct. 18 percent are less likely, and 32 percent say it won’t affect their vote.

Raising taxes on the wealthy – always a popular issue with Democrats – 56 percent are more likely to support the candidate in favor, 15 percent are less likely and for 26 percent it makes no difference.

Roughly 3 years after he got elected to the City Council, Councilman David Greenfield, who already has the endorsement of the Brooklyn Conservative party, is expected to face a challenge in September, sources tell YWN.

According to some reliable sources, Assemblyman Dov Hikind is pushing for a fight in the 44th council district, eager to challenge councilman Greenfield, who won decisively over Mr. Hikind’s candidate Joe Lazar in the 2010 special elections.

Mr. Hikind’s preferred choice, is Chaim Israel, A Chasid from Borough Park who wears a shtreimel on Shabbos. Mr. Israel is the director of the BP Housing And Neighborhood Development Group since 1977. He has also served as the president of the Boro Park Y for many years and is president of Agudath Israel of Boro Park West (9th Avenue).

If there’s any indication for his desire to seek public office, it is Mr. Israel’s notability as described recently in the Jewish Press that he “is seen in almost every picture of Borough Park activists at significant community events.” He was recently kicked off the Community Board No. 12. by Councilman Brad Lander. Hence, not only is Mr. Israel not viewed as a viable candidate, he would also fail to receive the backing of all the institutions Mr. Lazar got at the time, before losing badly.

We reached out to Assemblyman Dov Hikind’s office, but we have not received any response until this very moment.

“If Mr. Hikind is ready to go head-to-head in a fight he is expected to lose significantly, it proves how irrelevant he has become in the community and among his colleagues in Albany, one political operative, who requested to remain anonymous, said.

Back in 2010, on his Jan. 16 radio program, Hikind didn’t hide his spite against Greenfield, “There are people out there who run for office who take credit for everything in the world and I don’t respect people like that … some people just make these claims that are unbelievable. There’s one guy running who claims all these things he did in Albany – two years ago I never saw him there. Not once,” said Mr. Hikind.

The race has “unfortunately gotten rather nasty very early and I think the level of nastiness and negativity is bad for the community as a whole,” Michael Fragin, once an aide to Governor George Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg, said at the time.

(Jacob Kornbluh – YWN)

During a meeting with Orthodox Jewish community leaders in NYC on Tuesday, Eben Bronfman, John Catsimatidis’s campaign manager, told attendees that Mr. Catsimatidis will ride on a self-sponsored float during the annual Israeli parade on 5th Ave, Sunday June 2.

The Celebrate Israel Parade has become the world’s largest gathering in celebration of Israel, with most State and City officials in attendance. It is televised on FOX MY9, streamed on the internet and attracts worldwide audiences.

The Catsimatidis campaign handed out for the attendees, at the meeting, a bag that will be given out as a souvenir during the parade with the wording – ‘John Catsimatidis Loves Israel’. The bag is filled with candies, pins, pens and hand sanitizers.
Among the stuff packed in the bag, we also found Hebrew Chanukah dreidels and  and chocolate coins. Is Mr. Catsimatidis trying to draw any connection between the Greek/Chanukah story and the money coin bags?