YWN is the first to report that Rebecca Harary, a leader in the Orthodox Jewish community, will be running as a Republican to represent New York State Assembly District 73, according to  political analyst Aryeh Werth. Harary plans to announce tonight that she’s launching a campaign against Democrat Dan Quart for the seat which covers Midtown East and the Upper East Side in Manhattan.

“Any Republican running in Manhattan faces an uphill battle, but I see Rebecca Harary has strong community credentials and connections to raise funds,” says Werth.

Harary is currently the director of Propel Network, a non-profit that provides Jewish women with career guidance. Previously, Harary helped raise over $25 million as founding executive director of the Moise Safra Community Center and, before that, was the director of programming for the Edmond Safra Synagogue on the Upper East Side. She also founded two non-profit schools; The Imagine Academy for Autism and The Yeshiva Prep High School for children with mild learning challenges. Harary is also the mother of six children and is a grandmother.

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