Orthodox Jewish lawmakers reach record 11 in New York legislature after midterm elections

As a Democratic blue wave swept the country on Tuesday, another smaller caucus grew within the New York state legislature after Election Day: Orthodox Jews.

“Great morning in New York as there are now a record 11 members of the Shomer Shabbos caucus in the state legislature,” wrote David Greenfield, CEO of the Jewish nonprofit Met Council on Wednesday. 

Eight of those 11 legislators were up for reelection, while the other three are new to statewide elected office.

Pesach Osina, a longtime City Council staffer, will join the State Assembly as a Democrat after winning in a purple Queens district that includes the heavily Orthodox Jewish community in Far Rockaway, which voted overwhelmingly for him.

Democrat Lisa “Malkie” Vider, a healthcare administrator of about 30 years and first-time political candidate, flipped a Long Island State Senate district with a narrow victory.

And Democrat Joey Cohen-Saban, who will become one of two Sephardic Jews in New York office, handily defeated Jewish Republican incumbent Michael Novakhov in a South Brooklyn rematch after losing by just 232 votes in 2024.

Pro-Israel Jewish candidates win as Democratic socialists gain ground in New York

Those Jewish pro-Israel candidates’ victories come as more left-wing candidates endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America are also joining the state legislature and Congress representing New York.

Novakhov had tied Cohen-Saban to growing anti-Israel sentiment in the Democratic Party, warning in a campaign video that, if he loses his seat, the Republican Party will lose influence in Albany.

“Remove one, and you strengthen the very people who work against us, against Israel and against President Trump,” said Novakhov, whose district includes large Sephardic and Orthodox Jewish communities in Brooklyn.

Cohen-Saban has been a vocal supporter of Israel, and an opponent of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and even attempted to run on a “Pro-Israel Party” ballot line in 2024. He celebrated his win on Tuesday at a kosher restaurant in Midwood.

Greenfield also shouted out State Reps. Simcha Eichenstein, Kalman Yeger, Sam Berger, David Weprin, Aron Wieder, Nily Rozic and Ari Brown, the sole Republican within the group, and State Sen. Sam Sutton for their reelection victories.

Jewish candidates beyond Shomer Shabbos caucus secure New York election victories

Several Jewish candidates not included in the “Shomer Shabbos caucus” won races around New York on Tuesday.

David Orkin, a Jewish anti-Zionist and immigrant workers’ rights attorney, won a State Assembly election in Queens and will join 15 DSA-backed officials in New York’s legislature.

Orkin, a member of the anti-Zionist group Jewish Voice for Peace, has said he supports Mamdani’s “Not on our dime” bill, which aims to block New York charities from funding Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The bill failed to pass when Mamdani first introduced it, and State Rep. Diana Moreno reintroduced it this year.

Jewish State Assembly member Micah Lasher and former City Comptroller Brad Lander won their elections as expected, and will join Congress as part of the Democratic majority in January. Lasher will succeed Rep. Jerry Nadler, the longest-serving Jewish member of the House. Lander will join Congress with intentions of signing onto the Block the Bombs Act and otherwise putting pressure on Israel’s government, which he says is committing a genocide.

Public defender Eli Northrup, a progressive who prioritizes affordable housing and filling vacant storefronts, will fill the vacant Upper West Side seat that Lasher leaves behind.

Vanessa Aronson, a former nonprofit leader and co-chair of Park Avenue Synagogue’s Tikkun Olam Committee, will join Northrup in the State Assembly, representing parts of the Upper East Side.

Law professor David Siffert will represent an Assembly district that includes Greenwich Village and other parts of western and Lower Manhattan, and will make history as the first out nonbinary member of the New York state legislature.

They will join a number of Jewish state legislators who won reelection on Tuesday.

One prominent Jewish figure who did not come out victorious on Tuesday was GOP gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman, the Nassau County executive who courted pro-Israel Jewish voters with his staunch support of the country and criticism of pro-Palestinian protests. He lost to Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, 60% to 39.8%, with 92.5% of the vote tallied.