{"id":3397,"date":"2024-01-25T18:10:30","date_gmt":"2024-01-25T23:10:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ajcongress.org\/jewishpoliticalguide\/?page_id=3397"},"modified":"2024-01-25T18:18:21","modified_gmt":"2024-01-25T23:18:21","slug":"politico-support-for-israel-at-heart-of-crucial-new-york-special-election","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ajcongress.org\/jewishpoliticalguide\/politico-support-for-israel-at-heart-of-crucial-new-york-special-election\/","title":{"rendered":"POLITICO: Support for Israel at heart of crucial New York special election"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Republican Mazi Melesa Pilip is surrounded by family and supporters as she launches her bid for the New York House seat vacated by George Santos on Friday. | Emily Ngo\/POLITICO<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

By Emily Ngo, POLITICO<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Republican candidate for Congress in a crucial Long Island special election introduced herself to voters Friday by describing her military service in Israel and with a Star of David on her necklace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Mazi Melesa Pilip, being Jewish is central to her identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the district she seeks to represent, solidarity with Israel is a top priority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI stand strong with our communities in support of Israel, Ukraine and all nations that are subjects of terrorism,\u201d Pilip said to applause and cheers at a Nassau County rally packed with supporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her nomination<\/a> by New York Republicans sets the stage for the Feb. 13 special election<\/a> to fill the seat vacated by ousted Rep. George Santos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pilip, a Nassau County legislator, will face off against Democratic former Rep. Tom Suozzi<\/a> in a district that\u2019s home to an influential Jewish population \u2014 many of whom were offended by Santos\u2019 lies about being descended from Holocaust survivors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both candidates are staunch supporters of Israel; Suozzi noted Friday in a statement that he opposes conditions on aid to the Jewish state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The race in the battleground that could determine control of the House in 2025 is also a bellwether for how the Israel-Hamas war will factor into next year\u2019s presidential election. Whether Suozzi\u2019s unwavering backing of Israel leads younger, more liberal voters<\/a> to sit out the election \u2014 rather than support him \u2014 could foreshadow how President Joe Biden will fare on the issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s not an inch of daylight between Suozzi and Pilip on support for Israel,\u201d Lawrence Levy, executive dean of the National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University, said in an interview. \u201cBut the Democratic Party is seeing younger voters at odds with Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A spokesperson for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee told POLITICO in a statement, \u201cBoth candidates have reflected the overwhelming bipartisan support for Israel\u2019s fight to remove Hamas from Gaza.\u201d AIPAC did not respond to questions about whether it would spend money on or endorse in the special election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Friday, Republicans in Pilip\u2019s corner sought to show, however, that there are distinctions between her and Suozzi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur party is going to nominate an immigrant, a woman of color, a woman who is deeply religious, a woman who is a fighter, a woman who loves America,\u201d Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, the first Jewish person to hold that post, said in introducing her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pilip, an Ethiopian-born mother of seven, delivered short, prepared remarks at her rally, then was rushed out of the venue and into a waiting car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tactical exit left others from her party \u2014 a distinctly white and male representation \u2014 fielding reporters\u2019 questions on her behalf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had the opportunity as the majority to shine a light on those in Congress who have been far too long in the dark, wearing a mask, as complete antisemites and that\u2019s why we need someone like Mazi,\u201d Rep. Anthony D\u2019Esposito said in an interview, predicting that Pilip would be The Squad\u2019s \u201cworst nightmare.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New York Republicans made repeated references to Suozzi jesting on MSNBC in 2019 that he wanted to be an honorary member of the progressive clique that includes Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, even if he didn\u2019t always agree with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pilip was elected to local office as a Republican but is an enrolled Democrat, POLITICO reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee alleged Republicans are trying to hide their candidate. \u201cMAGA extremist Mazi Melesa Pilip can\u2019t have a staffer or GOP officials intervene every time the going gets tough,\u201d DCCC spokesperson Ellie Dougherty said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suozzi, for his part, said Friday in a statement to POLITICO that he steadfastly supports Israel as the war with Hamas enters a third month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI unequivocally stand with our ally Israel and the Jewish community,\u201d he said. \u201cIn Congress, I signed onto every major letter and piece of legislation that came my way to strengthen the U.S.-Israel relationship, bolster Israel\u2019s regional security, and combat antisemitism.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suozzi\u2019s higher national profile and congressional experience strike a contrast with the lesser-known Pilip, who didn\u2019t throw her hat into the ring until now and who has not been made widely available for interviews after her nomination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pilip\u2019s allies boast that her backstory \u2014 airlifted from Ethiopia into Israel as part of Operation Solomon, served in the Israeli Defense Forces as a paratrooper and married to a doctor of Ukrainian-Jewish descent \u2014 fits the political moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Levy of Hofstra noted that the 3rd Congressional District has one of the largest Jewish populations of any New York suburb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt has particularly fast-growing Orthodox communities that are a very reliable part of the Republican base,\u201d he said. \u201cBut Jewish voters overall still tend to support Democrats.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Emily Ngo, POLITICO The Republican candidate for Congress in a crucial Long Island special election introduced herself to voters Friday by describing her military service in Israel and with a Star of David on her necklace. For Mazi Melesa Pilip, being Jewish is central to her identity. For the district she seeks to represent,… more POLITICO: Support for Israel at heart of crucial New York special election<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":3398,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"spay_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3397","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nPOLITICO: Support for Israel at heart of crucial New York special election - Jewish Political Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow\" \/>\n<meta name=\"googlebot\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"bingbot\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ajcongress.org\/jewishpoliticalguide\/politico-support-for-israel-at-heart-of-crucial-new-york-special-election\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"POLITICO: Support for Israel at heart of crucial New York special election - Jewish Political Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Emily Ngo, POLITICO The Republican candidate for Congress in a crucial Long Island special election introduced herself to voters Friday by describing her military service in Israel and with a Star of David on her necklace. 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