Candidates Speak to Jewish Voters at Forum

As we come ever closer to the June 23rd primary election date here in NY-17, candidates have been ramping up efforts to reach voters. On April 23rd, Cait Connelly and Beth Davidson joined the Jewish Democratic Council of America for a forum on what issues Jewish voters care about the most in NY-17. Topics ranged from American support for the State of Israel to the current state of American democracy. 

Candidates were asked questions by moderator Halie Soifer and candidates were given a minute and a half to respond. The event was a forum, not a debate. Davidson and Connelly are the two front runners of the race, notably absent from the forum were other candidates such as Mike Sachs and Effie Philips–Staley, both of whom represent the progressive wing of Democratic politics in NY-17.

Rockland County has the largest Jewish community per capita in the United States, beating out King’s County (Brooklyn) which comes in at number two. Jewish people make up 30% of the overall population in Rockland County and constitute 19% of people living in the NY-17 district. 

This makes the Jewish community a large voting block for the district whose support will be crucial for anyone running for congress in the district. 

One of the most important issues for Jewish voters is the present state of the Middle East. Israel is currently being led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose coalition government has granted power to far right members of the Knesset. Prior to October 7th, these members had been on the periphery of Israeli politics. With Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, members of the far right parties Otzma Yehudit, or ‘Jewish Power’, and the religious Zionist party, respectively, in positions of power within the State of Israel, public support for military aid and financial assistance to the Jewish state is at an all time low across America. 

Both candidates reiterated their support for Israel and a two state solution during the webinar. As a Jewish woman herself, Beth Davidson spoke on the need to engage with surrounding nations in the Middle East to foster a long-term peace under a two state solution. Cait Connelly, a veteran and former national security advisor, spoke on her working relationship with the State of Israel on counter-terrorism and threw her support behind a two state solution as well. Both candidates are hesitant to support aid cuts to the State of Israel but believe that certain standards of practice must be met by all of America’s international allies who receive aid from the American taxpayer. 

The future of American democracy also stood at the top of the concern list for voters, both Jewish and not, in New York’s 17th district. Both candidates expressed their concern at what they saw as a denigration of our democracy under the Trump administration. Cait Connelly said her priority would be election security and undoing voter suppression. Connelly spoke on holding the members of the Trump administration, like secretary of war Peter Hegseth, accountable for having fostered undemocratic movements and legislation. Beth Davidson talked about the need to empower congress and undo the domination of the executive branch in our federal government. She also spoke of her support for the John Lewis voting rights act, a bill aimed at modernizing the protections on voters outlined in the 1965 Voting Rights Act. 

On antisemitism, Cait Connelly elaborated on her time as a national security adviser and her work in advancing protections of religious minorities in the United States. She spoke on the defunding of civil rights programs that directly benefit the Jewish community as a key issue and promised to restore funds that were cut to the Department of Education that went towards education on bigotry and prejudice. Beth Davidson spoke about the worrying number of young people in the United States  who either do not know about the Holocaust or do not believe that it happened. She also elaborated on what she sees as the politicization of the fight against antisemitism being stoked by the Republican Party as a key problem affecting Jewish Americans. 

To find the full webinar go to the Jewish Democratic Council of America’s YouTube channel where you can watch the full NY-17 forum.