Joe Lieberman may not have appeared to be a rebel at first glance, but this mild-mannered politician possessed a backbone of steel. As the first Orthodox Jew elected to the US Senate, he often acted as a bridge between Democrats and Republicans during an era of bitter polarization.

Bridging political divides

Imagine a Democratic presidential candidate choosing a Republican as their running mate. In today's political climate, that sounds outrageous. Yet, this almost became a reality in 2008 when Republican candidate John McCain considered selecting Lieberman as his vice president. Why would McCain partner with a Democrat? It was likely due to Lieberman's unique ability to bridge political divides.

Lieberman frequently collaborated with Republicans on significant issues, such as environmental legislation and welfare reform. His commitment to working across party lines was a hallmark of his political career, demonstrating that achieving goals often requires collaboration, even among those with differing viewpoints.

The first Orthodox Jew in the Senate

Lieberman's journey to the Senate was not just about politics but also about faith. As the first observant Jew in the Senate, he faced unique challenges. Observing Shabbat meant disconnecting from work for 25 hours each week, and attending events during Jewish holidays was often complicated. Some of Lieberman's political advisors expressed concern that his religious observance would impede his campaign. Yet, he viewed his Judaism as a source of motivation.

Throughout his political career, Lieberman maintained a daily practice of morning prayers, reflecting his commitment to his faith. This practice provided him with a sense of calm amidst the chaos of political life. Raised in an Orthodox home, he was instilled with the importance of Shabbat, which remained a priority even during his time in the Senate.

Lieberman's dedication to Shabbat was evident when he would walk for hours to the Capitol to vote on Saturdays, demonstrating his commitment to both his faith and his duties as a senator. His colleagues respected this unique aspect of his character, and it became a defining trait of his political persona. The Jewish value of tikun olam, or repairing the world, inspired him to address social issues head-on, from civil rights to environmental advocacy.

A commitment to social activism

Joe Lieberman's activism began in the 1960s, during a time of significant social upheaval in the United States. He was deeply affected by the injustices of Jim Crow laws and felt compelled to take action. In 1963, he marched on Washington, witnessing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s iconic "I Have a Dream" speech.

Moved by the struggle for civil rights, Lieberman organized voter registration campaigns and publicized mock elections to demonstrate that Black Americans were indeed interested in politics. His efforts were not just about political activism; they were personal, stemming from a belief in justice and equality.

The value of debate

Another key aspect of Lieberman's approach to politics was his appreciation for debate. He grew up in a household that studied the Talmud, which encourages lively discussions, values diverse opinions, and is unafraid to engage in disagreements. This tradition is integral to Jewish culture, where debate and discourse are necessary to understand and interpret religious texts. Lieberman's ability to embrace disagreements allowed him to work collaboratively across party lines. He believed that productive disagreements were essential to democracy as long as they were rooted in good faith and mutual respect.

Staying true to his convictions

Lieberman's political journey was not without challenges. He often found himself at odds with his party, especially regarding the Iraq War. While many Democrats opposed the war, Lieberman remained a staunch supporter, believing that withdrawing would damage American credibility and security in the Middle East. He was willing to face backlash for his convictions, showcasing a rare form of political integrity in an era marked by partisanship.

Endorsing McCain

In 2008, as Barack Obama campaigned for president, Lieberman publicly endorsed John McCain, a decision that sparked outrage among some Democrats. He felt that the Democratic Party had shifted away from the principles he once valued. His endorsement was not just a political move; it was a reflection of his deep-seated beliefs about the country's direction. This decision led to calls for Lieberman to be punished by his party, but he remained steadfast. His willingness to prioritize principle over party loyalty was a hallmark of his character, earning him respect from colleagues across the aisle.

Legacy of Jewish observance

Most people remember Lieberman as a politician who came close to being vice president. However, his legacy extends beyond political titles. He demonstrated that devout Jewish observance could coexist with a successful political career.

Lieberman's journey teaches us valuable lessons about the importance of conviction, collaboration, and the ability to engage with differing perspectives. In a time when political divisions seem deeper than ever, his example serves as a reminder that it is possible to bridge gaps and work together for the common good.

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Addressing supporters with a "heart filled with hope, purpose, and love for this city," Eric Adams accepted his win as New York City's mayor-elect with a nod to strong support from the Orthodox Jewish community, especially in Brooklyn.

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Adams, a Democrat, received 66.5% of the vote to Republican Curtis Sliwa, 67, founder of the Guardian Angels, who won 28.8% with nearly 78% of precincts reporting as of Wednesday afternoon.

In the district that includes the Crown Heights neighborhood – home to the Chabad-Lubavitch movement –Adams, 61, trounced his opponent, receiving 15,340 votes to 1,503 as of press time.

"Congratulations and mazel tov to my friend and loyal friend of Crown Heights, the one and only mayor-elect" Eric Adams, posted Rabbi Chanina Sperlin, executive vice president of the Crown Heights Jewish Community Council Governmental Affairs, on Twitter. "Eric is an incredible leader, trusted and loved by our community. Beyond excited for him to lead NYC to a new phase of growth and prosperity."

Avi Lesches, a community resident and activist, was an early proponent of Adams and was on hand Tuesday night to help Adams celebrate his win.

"Eric got strong support from the Orthodox community leading up to the primary with Crown Heights being the first official community to endorse him," said Lesches. It was followed by endorsements from Orthodox leaders in other Jewish communities including Flatbush in Brooklyn and Far Rockaway in Queens.

In New York's Assembly District 42, which includes the heavily Chassidic Jewish neighborhoods of Flatbush and Midwood, Adams trounced Silwa 13,089 to 1,656.

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Rabbi Yeruchim Silber, director of New York government relations for Agudath Israel of America of the Agudath Israel, said the organization "has had a longstanding relationship with Adams from both his days in the state Senate and as Brooklyn borough president. We look forward to working with him and his administration as he assumes the mayoralty."

Adams also had the endorsement from one of two segments of Satmar Chassidim based in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, whose leadership is split between two factions. The other endorsed Adams's challenger, Andrew Yang, during the Democratic primaries. Despite that initial split, Adams beat his Republican challenger in and around Williamsburg.

On the Twitter page of Satmar headquarters, the Chassidic group congratulated Adams, writing "mazel tov" to the mayor-elect.

'Once we move forward, we will never go back'

Sliwa did have some success in other Jewish neighborhoods, including parts of the heavily Chasidic Borough Park and adjacent Midwood, where he won 5,917 to 4,226. He also won in Assembly District 45, which includes parts of Midwood, Sheepshead Bay, and Brighton Beach, and has both Russian and Sephardic Jewish populations.

Speaking to all New Yorkers, Adams said on Tuesday night that "this is our moment. This is our opportunity. … In four years, this city is never going to be the same. Once we move forward, we will never go back."

"So, tonight, I have accomplished my dream," he said, "and with all my heart, I'm going to remove the barriers that are preventing you from accomplishing yours."

Lesches is optimistic that Adams will usher in a stronger relationship with the Orthodox Jewish community than his predecessor and current mayor, Bill de Blasio.

"Eric has a long and strong relationship with the Orthodox community that spans over a decade," he said. "So I believe it will be different than the relationship that de Blasio had. For starters, some of Eric's closest advisers are members of the Orthodox community and have been with Eric from his early days as a state senator. Eric's team has worked over the years with members of the Orthodox community across Brooklyn and other parts of the city."

 Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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The defiant tone of outgoing New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the wake of an investigation in which 11 women accused him of sexual harassment had many surprised on Tuesday when he announced his resignation, handing the position to his Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul. The transfer of power is slated to take place in the next couple of weeks.

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Jewish politicos in the state with the country's highest Jewish population said Cuomo leaves behind a mixed legacy with the Jewish community in the 10-plus years he has served as the state's governor. They described Cuomo as someone not endearing, and that the relationship, though productive, was one of necessity for both Cuomo's political ambitions and the community's needs.

A rift between Cuomo and, in particular, Orthodox Jews began to widen with the continuation of coronavirus restrictions and lockdowns with many believing that his executive orders in the past 18 months scapegoated Haredi Jews.

Ezra Friedlander, founder and CEO of the Friedlander Group, which advocates for Haredi Jews, said that Cuomo's record with issues important to them had been very positive for most of his tenure until the start of the pandemic.

"I think people will remember him with fondness and with positivity on the one hand," he said. "On the other hand, obviously, there were COVID-related issues where there were some directives from the state that people were extremely upset about. But then again, I don't think you can judge a person on only the last 18 months."

Prior to March 2020, Friedlander said the governor's office was very receptive to various Jewish organizations, whether on issues of antisemitism, social services and infrastructure.

Maury Litwack, director of state political affairs with Orthodox Union Advocacy, agreed that for many Jewish organizations, the Cuomo administration was proactive, including being the first state to pass state-level security funding for religious organizations in the wake of rising anti-Semitism.

According to Litwack, Cuomo also supported funding for Jewish day schools and was an ardent pro-Israel supporter who visited frequently.

Still, Litwack saw what he called the increasingly contentious relationship with the Jewish community since the pandemic began.

"I'd say over the last year-and-a-half, the relationship has been extremely rocky," he said, adding that he believes it was due to the breakdown of communication between Cuomo and the Jewish community. "I think the community felt like there wasn't an open door of communication and an understanding of what it was going through with COVID."

Of course, when the virus first swept through New York City – attacking religious-heavy areas because of population density, large extended families, and the nature of close-knit prayer, study and interaction – it threw leaders for a loop long before the rest of the country and before they could get a handle on it, public-health-wise. Hundreds of rabbis in Brooklyn fell ill and died in April, May and June.

Much of the Orthodox Jewish backlash against Cuomo appeared in force last fall, when Cuomo and his administration began placing extra restrictions on Orthodox neighborhoods in New York, especially Brooklyn, where COVID was on the rise, saying that it was necessary to prevent a second outbreak and harshly criticizing Jewish groups that violated capacity limits with tone-deaf statements.

Yossi Gestetner, co-founder and executive director of the Orthodox Jewish Political Action Committee (OJPAC), which advocates for civil liberties and civil rights for the Haredim, said that the governor used Orthodox Jewish communities as a scapegoat to pretend that the second wave of infections in the fall wasn't just an Orthodox problem.

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"Last fall, almost every day for a few weeks, he repeatedly targeted the Orthodox Jews for – you can call it naming them, shaming them," said Gestetner.

Cuomo's administration made Orthodox communities into "red zones," which would have more stringent anti- coronavirus measures than other zones.

Yet according to Gestetner, at the time other areas of the state, such as some counties in upstate New York, had higher rates.

"He wasn't busy with the people in those counties. He didn't name them by name, by ethnicity, or by racial group," explained Gestetner. "But he did so to Orthodox Jews last October and I think the consequences were very bad in terms of hate attacks. Verbal hate attacks, certainly discrimination in the private sector where business meetings and medical appointments were canceled for Orthodox Jews, especially in the so-called red zones, which are made out to be the cause of all problems in New York at a time when so many counties had worse rates."

'Leadership style alienated a lot of people'

Cuomo's leadership style or personality did not ingratiate himself to even members of his own party, leaving him with few to support him when his political fortunes started to change.

"Anybody who knew him, knew that he was a very nasty, miserable, horrible individual, … that God forbid, if you criticize him in any fashion, if you disagreed with anything in this administration, you became his enemy, and he would do whatever he could to destroy you," said former longtime New York State Assembly member Dov Hikind, who knew Cuomo and his father, former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, since the early 1980s.

Hikind said the community he represented had a good relationship with Cuomo because the governor had no choice but to deal with them.

A Democrat who served as assemblyman for 36 years, he also stated that the governor's statements towards the Orthodox Jewish community in the fall of 2020 could be considered antisemitic.

But as antisemitism in New York grew during Cuomo's term in office, Hikind said that Cuomo's actions to stem it were performative and ineffective, going only as far as condemning individual acts of antisemitism and sending in New York State Police to help the New York Police Department (NYPD) investigate the incidents, which he believes the NYPD could have done without the troopers' help.

Matt Nosanchuk, a former Obama administration White House Jewish liaison and founder of the New York Jewish Agenda, a progressive Jewish organization, said that after allegations of Cuomo's behavior became public, his organization was one of the first to call for Cuomo's resignation in March.

"I think basically, it was an affront to our values, dignity and responsibility … ," he said. "It'd become clear that he had lost the confidence of the majority of New Yorkers, and with challenges – significant challenges facing New York City, and state and the months and years ahead – we need a governor who can focus their energy on solving the problems of New Yorkers."

"Clearly, one of the challenges that he faced was his leadership style had alienated a lot of people," said Nosanchuk. "And so, when things got difficult for him, it wasn't like there were a lot of people lining up to support him."

Hochul, who will replace Cuomo on Aug. 24 and become New York's first woman governor, has a far different relationship with the Jewish community than Cuomo.

As lieutenant governor, she was known for traveling around the state and meeting many constituencies, including Jews of all observance levels."I believe that Kathy Hochul leads with positivity; she leads with hope," said Litwack. "[She's someone who is inquisitive, she's someone who wants to develop relationships, someone who wants to learn about communities, and in particular when it comes to the Jewish community, she's someone who's really taken the time over the last six years to visit and be with the community."

Recently, Litwack accompanied Hochul to visits to Jewish day schools in Queens and Flatbush to talk about education and rising antisemitism. She also attended a combating antisemitism rally in Westchester as well as speaking to an OUA mission to Albany."

"I'm really excited to welcome her as governor," said Litwack. "I think she's going to prove very quickly that she's the right person for the job."

Hochul was also a featured speaker for Nosanchuk's organization when it held its inaugural event in March 2020, which he said meant a lot for his organization.

'Walks in with an extremely clean slate'

Hochul, who is from upstate New York, was chosen to be Cuomo's running mate in 2014 and then won re-election in 2018. Prior to serving as lieutenant governor, she worked in the private sector and served as a member of the US House of Representatives after winning a special election to fill a seat vacated by Rep. Chris Lee (R-NY), who resigned from his position after a shirtless photo of him was published.

Friedlander said that Hochul was perfectly distanced from Cuomo these past years to benefit from the constituency engagement by visiting various communities, but not blemishing her record, as her position under Cuomo rendered her relatively powerless.

"I had the pleasure of hosting her at an event as well. So she got to know the players. The governor never really went around. That was her primary role was to represent the governor," said Friedlander. "So in abstract fashion, she actually benefited from Andrew Cuomo not giving her too much power because she sort of walks in with an extremely clean slate. Yet she is known and knows the players, and probably knows the process as well. In other words, she had almost an eight-year training period, sort of as a shadow governor, without the responsibilities or the record."

Hikind joked that few even knew she existed, including Cuomo.

"One of the things about Cuomo, if you were not part of his inner circle, you did not exist," he said. "I'm not even sure the governor knew who the lieutenant governor was."

He added, "I'm not blaming her. It was just the way Cuomo functioned. She was not part of the team. I guarantee you that Cuomo never, ever, ever would pick up a phone and ask her, 'Kathy, what's your opinion on this? What do you think we should do?' "

Hochul will complete the remainder of Cuomo's term but has already stated plans to run in 2022, meaning she has a year to gain exposure and win trust from New York Jewish voters.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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It's not every day that Europe's largest sportswear manufacturer features an Orthodox Jew on a billboard. Yet that's precisely what happened when Adidas portrayed Israeli national marathon and half marathon champion Beatie (Bracha) Deutsch in an ad campaign earlier this year along Tel Aviv's Ayalon Highway.

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The 31-year-old mother of five, who immigrated to Israel at the age of 19, recently appeared in the company's "Impossible Is Nothing" campaign in her signature look -- a below-the-knee skirt, three-quarter-length sleeves, and a headscarf.

This isn't the first time that American-born Deutsch, whose moniker on Instagram is @marathonmother, has defied stereotypes.

Deutsch, who narrowly missed competing for Israel at the Tokyo Olympics, came to the sport only five years ago. She began running after the birth of her fourth child, the fourth she delivered in six years.

After losing too many informal races at family reunions on the beach, Deutsch decided to commit herself to training for a marathon to get in shape. Her first official race was the 2016 Tel Aviv Marathon, which she ran in 3:27.

Deutsch ran her next marathon a year later, in 2017, when she was seven months pregnant, training until the day she gave birth.

Her race time for the marathon was 4:08:16, hinting at a great deal of untapped potential.

"I had the best labor, delivery, and recovery with my fifth child, the only pregnancy I ran through," admits Deutsch.

Deutsch went on to win half-marathon victories in Latvia and Tel Aviv in 2019 and Miami in 2020.

'I find running to be an incredible opportunity for prayer and to talk to God'

She also took Israel's national championship, the Tiberias Marathon, in 2019, clocking 2:42:18, three minutes faster than the-then most recent Olympic standard set in 2016. In 2020, she took the women's title at 2:32:25, shaving about 10 minutes off her previous time.

It hasn't always been easy. In January 2018, shortly before the Jerusalem Marathon, Deutsch was diagnosed with Celiac's, an autoimmune disease.

"I was anemic for a while before I realized. I felt really weak and had to stop to catch my breath frequently," says Deutsch, who now maintains a gluten-free diet. "Once I stopped eating gluten, my body started absorbing [iron]."

Then in 2020, she injured her left shin and had to take six weeks off from running.

Deutsch had hoped to represent Israel at this summer's Tokyo Olympics, rescheduled from 2020. She set a personal record of 2:31:39 at an April qualifying race in England two minutes, nine seconds shy of the Olympic criterion.

"I initially qualified through the ranking system but then with the prolonged qualifying period, I had to hit the guaranteed standard of 2:29:30," Deutsch explains. "I trained to run that time and was in the best shape of my life but unfortunately didn't quite make it."

For Deutsch, running has become a meditative experience. "I find running to be an incredible opportunity for prayer and to talk to God," she says.

The joy, she says, is in "being alone, discovering a new place, and soaking in every tiny detail of the world around me."

As most people have, Deutsch has experienced many obstacles recently, largely due to the pandemic, which has canceled races, challenged training schedules, reduced sponsorship offers, and hampered opportunities to win prize money.

In June, when a fellow athlete in the Israeli track-and-field delegation tested positive for COVID-19, the entire team, including Deutsch, was prevented from flying to the European championships in Bulgaria.

"If there's anything I've learned from running," Deutsch posted online after her disappointing Wales showing, "it is to stand strong and stay positive, to drown out the voices of self-defeat and hold on to faith. I want to make the most of this one precious life that I was given."

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Missing Tokyo hasn't crushed Deutsch's Olympic dreams; she now has her sights set on the Paris Games in 2024. Meanwhile, she is heading to Berlin's BMW Marathon, slated for Sept. 26. There, Deutsch will attempt to qualify again. If she succeeds, she will represent Israel in the World Championships in July 2022 in Eugene, Oregon.

"Super excited for the opportunity to run my heart out in Berlin, and finish at the historic Brandenburg Gate, where [Nazi leader Adolf] Hitler was appointed chancellor and proclaimed his plans to annihilate the Jews," Deutsch posted on Facebook.

'Conflict only happens when you take running out of context and see it as the be-all and end-all. We are ultimately souls, not bodies'

"Can't think of a more fitting way to demonstrate Am Yisrael Chai [the people of Israel live] than by racing as a proud Orthodox Jewish mother."

Today, Deutsch is sponsored by the Israeli Olympic Committee, allowing her to focus all her energy on running.

She rises at 5 a.m. to clock roughly 100 miles each week. She also strength trains thrice weekly on top of swim and/or cycle sessions a few times a week. On Sundays, she runs about 22 miles; the standard marathon is 26 miles.

Deutsch tries to prioritize sleep as "the best way to recover," but notes "it's not easy as a mom."

Her regimen includes weekly massage, nutrition consultations to maximize "fueling," and ice baths to aid recovery.

Deutsch has leveraged her public profile to raise awareness and, so far, 115,000 shekels ($35,600) for Beit Daniella, an Israeli recovery day center for youth struggling with mental health issues, including eating disorders.

Racing enhances rather than hampers her religious observance, Deutsch says.

"Conflict only happens when you take running out of context and see it as the be-all and end-all. We are ultimately souls, not bodies. And we need to remember that Hashem [God] is the source of our strength. We can't take credit for our accomplishments," she says.

Her modest attire, however, does raise questions. "I've definitely been asked about it," Deutsch says. "It has an impact, though it depends on the weather and race distance."

Black belt

Deutsch was first nicknamed "Speedy Beatie" on the basketball court at her all-girls Orthodox high school in her native Passaic, New Jersey.

Née Beatrice Rabin, she earned a black belt in taekwondo at 16 and studied gymnastics from the age of six to 12. She made aliyah after marrying her husband, then an avid cyclist. The couple resides in Neve Michael, a moshav near Beit Shemesh.

"Resilience, grit, and determination" are among the qualities Deutsch hones through training.  She also credits the sport with getting more in touch with herself.

Running, she says, "creates an attitude that spills over into all areas of our lives, demanding more from ourselves, striving to become the best version of ourselves, pushing past perceived limitations, stepping out of our comfort zone."

But that's not all that brings her satisfaction.

Being a mom to my five children, including one with special needs," Deutsch says, "is definitely an accomplishment."

Featured on JNS.org, this article was first published by Israel21c. 

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RLUIPA, as the law is commonly referred to, was created in part to ensure that municipalities did not create zoning or landmarking laws that would discriminate against religious institutions or "unreasonably" limit religious structures or assembly within in a jurisdiction.

The US Attorney's Office said in its letter that the village's zoning code "substantially burdens, discriminates against and unreasonably limits the practice of religion by the village's Orthodox Jewish community."

In a statement, Agudath Israel of America said it is "grateful that the [US] Justice Department is prepared to take all steps necessary to fight religious discrimination and ensure religious liberty."

The Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Committee also praised the move. In a statement, the OJPCA said that "the Village of Airmont was created three decades ago essentially to abuse government power against Orthodox Jews. Time and again, the DOJ stepped in to stop it, and here we are again because the essence of the village has not changed."

The Village of Airmont is no stranger to allegations that it discriminates against Orthodox Jews. Its establishment in 1991 was considered by some as a way to take control over local zoning ordinances and limit the construction of houses of worship. Since Torah-observant Jews don't drive on Saturday (Shabbat) and most Jewish holidays, they often live within walking distance of a congregation.

By denying the construction of synagogues, many believed that village officials were effectively trying to keep out the Orthodox.

In fact, the federal government's first lawsuit against Airmont was in 1991 under the Fair Housing Act when officials claimed that the village had been "incorporated for the purpose of excluding Orthodox Jews through zoning restrictions on their places of worship."

The US Attorney's letter also notes that Airmont is the subject of two federal lawsuits claiming religious discrimination—Central UTA v. Village of Airmont and Congregation of Ridnik v. Village of Airmont.

It further states that the village violated a previous judgment against it to "recognize the category of 'residential place of worship,' a category which has been removed from the Village's zoning code."

"We will briefly delay filing the complaint if the village is willing to negotiate a resolution of this matter through a consent decree that would be filed simultaneously with the complaint," Acting US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Audrey Strauss wrote, adding that the lawsuit will be filed no later than Sept. 15. "We hope to solve this matter through an amicable settlement, rather than through potentially costly and protracted litigation."

Attorney Brian Sokoloff, partner and co-founder of Sokoloff Stern, LLP, which is representing the Village of Airmont, said that it doesn't comment on pending or threatened litigation. He also replied with "no comment" when asked if he was surprised that issues regarding RLIUPA continue to be at issue.

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Sokoloff said that the village had won a previous lawsuit filed by the United Talmudical Academy in state court. He added that the federal court has dismissed "large portions" of the Central UTA lawsuit. Sokoloff Stern has also made a motion to dismiss the case by the Congregation of Ridnik.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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Seals was killed by two attackers early on Tuesday afternoon at the Bay View Cemetery in Jersey City. The suspects, a man and a woman, then drove approximately one mile to the JC Kosher Supermarket in the city's Greenville section, home to a significant population of religious Jews.

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The two stormed the store and fired round after round of bullets as they engaged police during an hours-long standoff. When police entered the market officers discovered the bodies of Leah Mindel Ferencz, 33, who owned the store with her husband, Moshe Dovid Ferencz; Moshe Deutsch, 24, of the Williamsburg neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY; and Miguel Douglas, 49, who worked at the store. Ferencz's husband had left the store just moments before the attack to attend afternoon prayer services at a synagogue next door.

"There is an extremely massive outpouring of grief and outrage at the attack that occurred in Jersey City," said Jewish community leader Chaskel Bennett, a co-founder of the civic and political group Flatbush Jewish Community Coalition (FJCC), who spearheaded the campaign with fellow Flatbush community leaders Leon Goldenberg and Moshe Wulliger. "Obviously, when an event of this magnitude happens and we see the victims that are identifiably Orthodox Jews, automatically it hits home a little bit harder."

"Orthodox Jews care deeply about the people who stand on the front lines protecting us," added Bennett.

In situations like this, he continued, "We as a community need to take a moment and recognize the sacrifices that law enforcement professionals are making all across the country to secure our shuls, our synagogues, our JCCs, our yeshivas, our day schools. … These are human beings with families; and in this case, Detective Seals has a wife and five children."

The response to the fundraising campaign was swift. More than 1,400 donations were raised; the campaign is now closed. Gifts ranged from just $2 to $200, with many less than $50. A number of those who contributed also left messages on the campaign web page.

"RIP, thank you for all you have done. May God bless your family and all the men in blue."

"We can never repay you for all the lives you saved, RIP. Strength to your wife and kids and loved ones."

Donating to the Seals family, said Bennett, shows that "Orthodox Jews care deeply about the people who stand on the front lines protecting us," adding that this "small act" allows the "community to take our anguish and transform it into tangible action."‎

The response also shows that "the anguish is real," he added.

"The fear Jews now feel didn't begin with this terrible incident. The anti-Semitic attacks against our community have been escalating for a while now, and we have been sounding the alarm," explained Bennett.

However, "the response by people to donate more than $48,000 in 18 hours speaks to the overwhelming desire for people to be part of something positive in the midst of such pain. From the depths of our sorrow, the very best of our people shines through," he said.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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Yeshiva World News first reported the event, which was arranged by philanthropist Louis Scheiner for the America First super PAC and has apparently been kept under the radar for several months.

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The fundraiser is not being backed by any official Jewish organization.

Last quarter, the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee raised a combined $125 million, having raised more than $300 million this year.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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