Both campaigns in the tight race for New York’s 17th constituency condemned a last-minute robotic call that allegedly represented “great rabbis” in a message that appeared to be aimed at exploit the tension between the Orthodox Jewish population and the non-Jewish residents of this area.
The last minute call claims:
“In the name of our great rabbi, we urge you to vote for Sean Maloney for Congress. Sean has a proven track record of standing up for our community in Kiryas Joel. He’s been battling surrounding towns and villages trying to stop the expansion of many family homes in our community.He’s secured tens of millions of dollars to build people’s homes. low income in our community He promised our leaders that if elected he would do the same for the communities in Rockland County please show your support and vote for Sean Maloney for Congress.”
Maloney is currently a member of New York’s 18th congressional district, which includes Kiryas Joel, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, but the New York congressional map has been redrawn for the 2022 election. Maloney is running to represent 17th congressional district which includes Rockland County, another county with a large Jewish community.
In Orange County, where Kiryas Joel is located, tension exists between the Orthodox Jewish community, one of the poorest on paper in America, and surrounding areas. In 2018, community separated from the town of Monroe after years of litigation and zoning conflicts. While Maloney helped bring Kiryas Joel’s community money for local infrastructure projects, there is no evidence of him assisting the community in combat zoning.
A copy of the automated call is obtained by CNN. The call was first reported on Sunday by The Forward, a Jewish publication. According to robot call-proof app Nomorobo, the number involved in calls made an estimated 100,000 to 150,000 calls Sunday night to phones with area code 845 – this is the area code for areas of the US. The county that Maloney is running represents includes Rockland County. .
The message reviewed by CNN failed to identify who paid for the call in the introduction and provided a callback number, which violates Federal Communications Commission rules about political campaign calls. by auto-dialed or pre-recorded voice. The received phone number is no longer an active phone number.
A spokesman for Maloney called the call an “anti-Semitic smear”.
“This electronic call is not connected to or authorized by our campaign in any way,” Maloney spokeswoman Mia Ehrenberg told CNN.
Maloney’s opponent, Republican Congressman Mike Lawler told The Forward the call was “complete nonsense,” adding “I don’t accept it,” and his spokesman Bill O’Reilly told CNN, “These things are not from us.”
