There are still Rabbanim with integrity! Rabbi Reisman Endorses Zeldin for Governor

 

 Lee Zeldin is about to get an extremely rare endorsement from a leading Rabbi, underscoring just how perilous the current situation is for religious Jews in New York.

As first reported in Hamodia by Reuvain Borchardt, Harav Yisroel Reisman is set to endorse the Republican, mainly due to the looming threat to yeshivas from the State Education Department.

For months, Charedim have wondered whether Rabbanim would publicly endorse Zeldin. Orthodox leaders often refrain from endorsing candidates, in part because of the risk of alienating the opposition.

However we are living in unprecedented times. The community has been afflicted with rampant antisemitism, and the vicious campaign against yeshivas has culminated in catastrophic restrictions.

While one of the candidates clearly stands with our community, the other, despite support from askanim, has repeatedly alienated orthodox Jews.

Unlike Hochul who has avoided taking a stand on the secular equivalency issue and refused to defend yeshivas, Zeldin has been a staunch and unwavering supporter of the yeshiva curriculum, even months before the equivalency guidelines were passed by state officials.

“Our lives as Orthodox Jews in this state have never been so threatened as they are now, with the current education regulations,” Rabbi Reisman, Rosh Yeshiva of Torah Vodaath and Rav of Agudah of Madison, told Hamodia. “Lee Zeldin had the courage to speak up for our yeshivos many months ago, not just as the election is coming down to the wire.”

He added, “We would support Zeldin for his stances on crime and inflation anyway. But our community is laser-focused on the attack on our yeshivos. And we are very motivated to get out and vote.”

Rabbi Reisman is scheduled to announce the endorsement on Sunday. In addition, a letter sent this week to alumni from Yeshiva Chaim Berlin urged them to vote for Zeldin, saying “Our chinuch and way-of-life” are “at stake.”