Big development here in NY State

[geek tragedy]

One of the two Satmar (ultra-Orthodox Hasidic Jews) grand rebbes endorsed Hillary--the two communities total about 120,000 people.

That means he just put on the bat signal for all the registered Democrats in his community to vote as a bloc for Hillary.

It won't be all (age, registration status etc) but his endorsement alone could be worth 10,000 votes.

Rumor has it that Hillary asked for his vote, and that Bernie didn't bother. This campaign in a microcosm--the Bernie Jewish outreach director is getting all the publicity, and Hillary's people just delivered thousands of votes.

This is a weird place sometimes.

Updated:

http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/headlines-breaking-stories/407693/satmar-of-kiryas-yoel-endorsing-hillary-in-new-york-primary-election-for-president.html

Not much more at the link.



The Satmar have divided into two groups, lead by two brothers. The brother leading this group--the grand rebbe--is Aaron Teitelbaum.

Not many endorsements deliver votes, this one will deliver thousands in the northern suburban counties in New York. This gives the endorser enormous clout of course.

From several times removed sourcing, what I've seen is that Clinton asked for their vote, Sanders didn't.


More on this community:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiryas_Joel,_New_York

[hrmjustin]

1. Hillary wins Borough Park and Crown Heights with this news.

Williamsburg is now in doubt.

[geek tragedy]

3. Rockland and Orange county too.

I admire the principles it took but hiring a potty-mouthed BDS activist for Jewish outreach here, and not doing the groundwork with the rebbes, was amazingly bad judgment. Worse than sending Cornel West out as a surrogate in South Carolina.

The Satmar don't get polled. I don't think they even have electricity.

[hrmjustin]

6. The I/P issue is a minefield in NY.

[geek tragedy]

9. this seems to go beyond that.

to whom was their Jewish outreach person reaching out ?

Under no illusion that Dov Hikind & Co were going to endorse him, but they could have tried to block.

[Hortensis]

40. Fwiw, this is not her first outreach here. She has

history in NY, of course, and they knew her long before ex-NY/Vermonter Bernie made his brief hiring mistake.

[geek tragedy]

18. check this out

http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/04/14/bernie-sanders-suspends-jewish-outreach-coordinator-after-reports-of-her-criticisms-of-israel/?_r=1

Two days after the announcement of her hiring, the Sanders presidential campaign suspended its national Jewish outreach coordinator, Simone Zimmerman, on Thursday after revelations that she had posted vulgarities about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Facebook.
“She has been suspended while we investigate the matter,” Sanders spokesman Michael Briggs wrote in an email.

Ms. Zimmerman’s suspension comes after a report on Wednesday in the Washington Free Beacon which found a Facebook post in which she used a vulgarity and described Mr. Netanyahu as “arrogant, deceptive, cynical,” and “manipulative.” She then used more aggressive language and continued that he had “sanctioned the murder of over 2,000 people this summer.”

But members of the American Jewish establishment had been attacking her and the Sanders campaign since her appointment for her record of criticizing Israeli settlements and its policies in the West Bank and Gaza. Abe Foxman, the president of the Anti-Defamation League, also called for her firing.

[bluestateguy]

2. Is that New Square or Kiryas Joel?

They vote as a bloc in elections.

I don't think they ever liked Obama, but I recall that they voted for Hillary in 2000 and 2006.

[geek tragedy]

4. Kiryas Joel

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12511735229

This is big.

[workinclasszero]

5. Thats great!

[livetohike]

7. I lived in Monroe, NY for a while. Members from the Kiryas Joel

community came to our Democratic Club meeting and worked to GOTV.

[geek tragedy]

8. Are they all registered D or do some register with other parties? if you know, of course, nt

[livetohike]

12. I had the impression the votes coming from that

community were predominately Democratic votes. I lived there from 1992-1994 and remember how impressed I was at their active participation in our club. One of our officers told me that the community turns out the vote. Apparently when the word comes out, they get to it! Yay for Hillary

[geek tragedy]

13. She knows this state. nt

[LiberalFighter]

21. Yep! While Bernie was born and raised in Brooklyn.

And apparently since his early teens wanted to live in Vermont.

So of course New Yorkers should treat him as a favorite son.

[geek tragedy]

22. you can never go home again nt

[LiberalFighter]

25. I would disagree on that.

In Sanders case, he never wanted to go back. Big difference imo.

[geek tragedy]

26. this isn't the city he left.

he's as out of place here as I was when I moved here from the Midwest.

[LiberalFighter]

29. A lot changes after that many years.

[Hortensis]

41. Interesting observation...

[sheshe2]

10. KnR!

[LAS14]

11. Like the Arizona lawsuit story. Bernie talks and Hillary walks.

[Cha]

14. Thank you, Hillary, for reaching out! Thanks to the ultra-Orthodox Hasidic Jews for responding!

Mahalo, geek~

[yallerdawg]

15. Bernie is courting...

Italian Roman Catholics? In freakin' Italy!

[geek tragedy]

16. New York is an amazing place with a diverse population. Too bad he high-tailed it out

of here before he got to know the state.

[lolly]

31. I think he was going for the Latinx vote?

Like a lot of out-of-touch politicians, he seems to think that a tacky gesture will suffice to get people to vote for you.

[Hortensis]

42. Lots of Catholics in NY state.

[FloridaBlues]

17. Yes read she was endorsed by them and I agree they will vote !

[The Old Lie]

19. This Satmar Jew isn't for Clinton.

[Treant]

23. There's a forum for that.

And it isn't this one. Bye.

[geek tragedy]

24. this is the Hillary Clinton group nt

[lunamagica]

20. AWESOME!!!

[riversedge]

27. REC. and Thank you.---good news indeed for Hillary

[mcar]

28. Anti-semites!

Just anticipating the BSer reaction to this great endorsement.

[Tarheel_Dem]

30. K&R!

[fleabiscuit]

32. K&R

[Surya Gayatri]

33. She knows her ground game, does our Hil.

Last edited Fri Apr 15, 2016, 01:00 AM - Edit history (1)

[DemonGoddess]

34. K&R!

[Historic NY]

35. I'm 8 miles from them & I know how it works there....

I was a monitor in 2008 elections....its interesting as many are European there. It will be a very big voting bloc.

[R B Garr]

36. That is very interesting. Thanks for the background. n/t

[Hekate]

37. Kick and Holy Rec!

[NastyRiffraff]

38. K&R

This is GREAT news!

Sanders didn't help himself with Jews in the debate last night. He said:

“In the long run, if we are ever going to bring peace... we are going to have to treat the Palestinian people with respect and dignity,”

Superficially this sounds okay; treating people, including Palestinians, with respect and dignity is a good thing. But this is a well-known dog-whistle to Israel and the Jewish community as well as Israel itself.

[Gothmog]

39. The OP has some great information

Thanks for posting.

[Hekate]

43. What an interesting and informative thread. Thanks, geek.

[obamanut2012]

44. Wow -- for real?!