We Must Vote - It’s Our Obligation To The Klal

Now that the hustle-bustle of the holidays are over- our sukkahs have been dismantled, we have gone on the scale, realized that we now have to lose ten pounds of excess yom tov indulgences and our business schedules are finally back to normal, we must focus our attention on issues at hand that could have a tremendous effect on our community this coming year.  One impending one is the upcoming congressional and state elections.  It is just a month away. It is our moral obligation to address this circumstance seriously.  The recent machinations in the United States Senate’s judiciary committee over yom tov where the Democrats have pulled every low punch to sabotage Judge Brett Kavanaugh from becoming the next Supreme Court justice should send shivers down every patriotic American’s spine.  Our entire jurisprudence system is being compromised right before our eyes. The idea that someone is innocent until proven guilty as well as due process is being thrown out the window. No matter what one thinks about the credibility of the accuser or about Judge Kavanaugh, we, Jews must take into account the big picture and that is the integrity of the preservation of religious freedom based on the Bill of Rights of the Constitution. We need someone on the Court to strictly interpret the Constitution to protect our liberties. Jews have flourished in America because of religious freedom and we cannot jeopardize that basic premise by having the majority become liberal in its interpretation of our laws.

 As I have stated in previous articles, I am not telling the community who to vote for, I am just advocating that everyone who is registered to do so, cast a ballot this year.   Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is up for reelection and her latest stands on BDS, support for anti-Israel activist Linda Sarsour and her public stand against Judge Kavanaugh before the verdict is out and without evidence to prove her case in the guise of protecting women is very sobering. Obviously Senator Gillibrand does not value the extensive Jewish population residing in New York and has turned against us in areas that are very important to our community especially with regards to Israel and the proliferation of anti-Semitism. The Jewish vote must be an entity that elected officials do not take lightly. I am very concerned that due to disinterest, people will sit this one out and not bother to go to the polls. I couldn’t disagree with that more. If we exclude ourselves from the political process, we will therefore be excluding ourselves from changing the status quo.  The 2018  midterms can be a consequential election and the only way we can reach a level of true influence in our country and community is to state our will on policy at the polling place. Getting angry or apathetic will not provide the necessary changes we need.   A vote less people is a hopeless people that give our elected officials a carte –blanche to do as they see fit even if it isn’t in our collective best interest.

 We can’t let that sway us from doing our civic duty. Many important issues will be decided in the next Congress and in Albany.  We owe it to our outstanding Queens officials in Albany including Senator Joseph Addabbo, Jr, Senator Toby Stavisky and Assembly members David Weprin, Nily Rozic and Daniel Rosenthal who continuously support our community to show our appreciation to them at the polls.  They should not be taken for granted by our lacksadaisical attitude.

America has become a nation of non-participants.   According to the Census Bureau in the past eight Federal elections an average of 45% of voting age citizens didn’t bother to cast a ballot. In our community I’m afraid the statistics are even higher. 

There is a myriad of reasons that some seem not to exhibit any interest in the process. Among them is that few believe in the system. We assume that we are electing individuals who represent us and our collective wishes in government; but instead politicians are putting party before country and have made a mockery of the democratic system. Over the past few decades and especially this time around, politics has become marginalized to being a form of American entertainment, akin to the World Series or Saturday Night Live. Politics is also more divisive which  is definitely a turn off for many. Still others believe erroneously that their vote doesn’t matter.

Our politicians have become polarized. Neither political party is putting our interests before their personal agenda. They have been engaged in gutter politics-sniping at each other and harping on who is more morally corrupt than the other. Both the Congress and Albany are guilty of this and are unpopular with very low approval ratings for being  “ do nothing” institutions.

Maybe we have to enact some drastic measures to get our populace to understand the importance of voting. Australia, for example, requires every citizen over the age of 18 years to vote. If they don’t, they face a $20 fine. If the case ends up in court and the non-voter is found guilty, he/she is fined $50 plus court costs.

Truth be told, the problem is that we are not voting in numbers that pique the interest of our elected officials. If we don’t cast our ballots for the politicians, they have no reason to do anything for us. We will be written off. We won’t be pandered to because they cannot count on us for our support of them at the polling place. Elected officials count the ballots at the end of every election cycle and see which areas came out for them or came out at all.

I learned this lesson long ago when I first began in this business. I went to an elected official (who is now not in office) to plead the case for a group of Jews. He listened to my impassioned plea and said,”I will try to help you because you are very sincere, but I have to tell you something. This group does not vote”. That was an important lesson for me. It is simply a case of “no ticky-no washy”. Another words if we don’t do our bit by supporting the elected officials, they will not help us as a community. Why should they? It is time to be responsible and consider the klal
and Israel.

American Jews currently are enjoying safety in the Diaspora. That feeling of security is apparent in voting patterns.  American secular Jews are more inclined to be left-leaning liberals and would thus choose to vote for a Democrat no matter who the Republican candidate is. But with all that said, disgusted as we may be about the quality of those seeking office in general, we cannot let that deter us from our moral obligation to vote.

May Hashem watch over us and guide us through this process.

By Cynthia Zalisky

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Cynthia Zalisky is the Executive Director of the Queens Jewish Community Council. She can be contacted at  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.