An Address To The Community
Dear Editor:
As we have seen with the Syrian schools in Brooklyn, where they mandated that parents prove they are registered to vote for their children to attend school, we must implement this in Queens. If we require all parents to register to vote (for those who are legally allowed to register), we can help stop the antisemitic Zohran Mamdani from possibly winning.
Our shuls should require proof of registration as well, to allow people to come for the Yamim Nora’im or receive any kibbudim in shul. That way, everyone who can legally register will be registered to vote.
But it is more than just registering; we must make sure people actually vote as well. While it is illegal to offer compensation for voting or to make people prove who they voted for, it has been upheld that companies can offer “freebies” to those who can prove they voted afterward. We need to put conditions on kibbudim in shul or school enrollment if parents cannot prove they voted.
It is legal in New York to show a blank ballot at the booth, but not legal to show a filled-out one. All we need as proof is for parents to show they went to vote, and we can assume they voted for one of the better candidates (there may be no “good” ones, just better than Mamdani).
Lastly, we need a better information campaign about how to vote. I recently met a Bukharian woman who was in tears because she thought she had to vote for Mamdani since she was a registered Democrat. She explained she only registered as such because she was told by community leaders to do so, to vote in the primary. She was unaware that being a registered Democrat does not mean you must vote for the Democratic candidate in the general election.
In my political work, I have seen this same misconception in immigrant parts of the Asian community. After that incident, I found that many in the Bukharian community—mostly immigrants—hold the same mistaken belief.
For years, the Democratic Party has been pushing this misinformation into immigrant communities to lock them in as voters, leveraging their control of New York to convince them they must register as Democrats and vote Democrat.
We need to get the information out there that people do not need to vote for the party they are registered with; they can vote for anyone. If someone is still hesitant because they believe they must vote Democrat if registered Democrat, help them switch registration to Republican or Independent. That way, they will be more comfortable voting against Mamdani.
If there are races in 2026 where we need more registered Democrats to help in the primaries, a campaign can be run then to temporarily switch registration, as you can change it as often as needed.
We need to work together as a community to stop Mamdani, and we need to act fast.
Rabbi Dovid Hirsch
Dear Editor:
Moshe Hill has once again taken a stab at analyzing the state of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, claiming that President Trump, in his role as peacemaker, is close to finally ending the war. But it’s important to note the type of peace Mr. Hill envisions. He claims that the money given to Ukraine during former President Biden’s term “prolonged the war” and argues that Trump’s leverage to end it lies in his refusal to offer open-ended support to Ukraine.
You don’t even have to read between the lines to see that this push toward “peace” is really just a willingness to increasingly side with Russia.
Mr. Hill still maintains that Trump is being tough on Russia. Last time, he insisted that Trump acting more aggressively toward Ukraine than toward Russia was a genius plan to bring about peace. Shockingly, that didn’t work on Putin, who carried on as before.
Over the last few months, Trump repeatedly threatened to impose new sanctions on Russia, only to pull back before deadlines. He claimed Russia would face “very severe consequences” if Putin didn’t agree to end the war at the recent summit. But the summit came and went with no ceasefire, and there have been no consequences. Instead, Trump is now discussing ending the war on terms that seem suspiciously like Putin’s wish list — and that’s what got European leaders rushing to the White House.
All the while, Putin seems to be playing Trump like a fiddle, knowing Trump loves praise, especially from autocratic strongmen. After the summit, Trump enthusiastically recounted how Putin congratulated him for accomplishing so much in his second term and even agreed that he had really won the 2020 election. Trump continues to blame everyone but Putin for the war and insists that it is only Zelenskyy, not Putin, who can end it.
Mr. Hill calls the summit a “power move” against Russia, but his only evidence is that Trump had bombers fly overhead right before warmly greeting a grinning Putin on a red carpet.
As of now, the summit hasn’t led to any real progress, and Trump’s latest approach hasn’t accomplished anything. Maybe Trump will eventually be able to end the war in a way that doesn’t reward Russia so heavily, but Mr. Hill’s glowing description of Trump’s “peacemaking” doesn’t make me hopeful.
He even echoes Trump’s boast that he has “ended six wars” (though last week Trump suddenly changed that to seven), but unsurprisingly, most of those examples are exaggerated or unresolved. And, of course, Trump spent the campaign promising to end the war on “Day 1” — and that it would be “so easy.” Perhaps it’s better to wait for Trump to actually achieve that before chiding analysts for doubting him.
Yaakov Ribner
Life’s Inconsistencies
Dear Editor:
Pardonnez-moi, but there are some inconsistencies I just don’t understand.
For example, why is it that if I get a man’s suit dry cleaned, it costs a mere $13.50, but if I want to dry clean a simple dress, it costs $25? The dress itself only cost $30! (Caveat emptor — don’t buy a dress that says “Dry clean only.”) Do more chemicals go into cleaning a dress? Is this some form of sexism?
Moreover, why is the current style for dresses and skirts maxi-length? Sometimes I have to hold my breath when I see women trying to go down steps or cross Main Street in these lengthy skirts. I don’t see any men taking down the cuffs of their pants. Instead, men seem to dress more casually, especially in the summer.
Another thing that sends my brain reeling is the cost of pre-fast pills. Now, I know I’m no chemist (although I got an A in chemistry in college), but what really differentiates these pills from Advil or Tylenol? Why do they cost anywhere from $11.50 to $14.50? Why should one suppository cost $5.00? I’m not criticizing any of the pharmacies or stores that sell these items — I’m just wondering aloud.
Another conundrum: why does the Verizon repairman insist on a 30-minute explanation as to why my TVs haven’t been working for three days? I understand that the cables weren’t screwed in tightly, but do I need a dictionary to understand the rest of the jargon? All I want to know is whether he can fix the problem and if I can get a four-day refund for the time the TVs didn’t operate. However, I do need a review course to operate the multiple remotes I own.
As I seek answers to my questions, I know one thing for sure: there are things in life I will never understand (online banking, scanning, fitting everything into my dishwasher) — nor will I attempt to.
Debbie Horowitz
Dear Editor:
The other day, as I was scrolling through Facebook (I know, it’s an idle habit of mine I need to work on, but I mostly go on for politics, so give me a little slack), a video popped up on my screen of Charlie Kirk, the leader of Turning Point USA.
For those who don’t know, Charlie Kirk is a brilliant young Christian man with a vision for a better America. Years ago, he saw what was happening on college campuses and decided to do something about it. He started Turning Point USA to promote pro-Judeo/Christian values on campuses. He is pro-Israel, pro-family, and a refreshing alternative to the woke culture dominating so many colleges today.
He often visits campuses where students, both liberal and conservative, line up to ask him questions, which he answers brilliantly and articulately.
In the video I watched, a female student asked him about women hesitating to enter male-dominated fields because of limited maternity leave. Kirk asked her what matters more to her: a great family or a great career. When she said “family,” he responded that she should want to marry someone who earns enough so she could stay home and raise her children — because, deep down, many women in America weep when dropping their three-month-old babies off at daycare.
He said he wants to live in a country where, if a woman wants to stay home to raise her children, she shouldn’t have to work — and we should build a country that supports that. Unfortunately, things have gotten so expensive, especially in Democrat-controlled cities, that it can be difficult. Still, he stressed that this should be the goal: better to have mommy raising the little ones than strangers.
This got me thinking about our current shidduch crisis and what we can do about it. Why does the chareidi Orthodox establishment promote our young girls dating learning boys who don’t work? We are emasculating our young men and stripping them of the energy and purpose meant to support their families.
We’re teaching our young women to embrace feminism by encouraging them to get full-time jobs to support their husbands while leaving their little ones in crowded playgroups. This leads to exhausted mothers with no strength to cook nourishing meals and, in some cases, even to medicating children to keep them compliant — all to make life easier at home and in yeshivas.
What’s more important: healthy family systems or maximizing the number of male students to fill the Beis Medrash?
Years ago, women stayed home raising their children while men worked. That didn’t mean men didn’t find time to learn; my father and brothers gave their wives the ability to stay home yet still made time to learn every day.
The current system is unhealthy, and children are becoming entitled, expecting parents to “get with the program.” Many parents feel intimidated and even go into debt to maintain the status quo. The system is broken, and shidduchim are becoming harder and harder for those who don’t fit these difficult standards.
Something has to change. It’s not sustainable — and it’s not good for our communities.
Rebecca Chesner