Eddie M Esses and Sari J Setton
The Sephardic Community Federation (SCF) has launched one of the most ambitious voter registration drives in the history of our community. Led by Haim Dabah and Marshall Aronow, in partnership with SCF’s executive team – Ronnie Tawil, Sari Setton, Eddie Esses, Joey Saban, Joe Mansour, and Charles Chakkalo. This unprecedented initiative is already reshaping civic engagement across our community, having registered thousands of new voters with the goal of adding many thousands more before the November mayoral election.
The campaign was launched this past August at a meeting hosted by Haim Dabah at his home in Deal, NJ. Leaders from schools, synagogues, and community institutions gathered for a powerful morning of strategy and planning. Presentations by Haim Dabah Marshall Aronow, and Ronnie Tawil set the tone for the weeks ahead, followed by a lively discussion among the assembled leadership. In addition to uniting our institutions around this mission, the meeting also raised enough money to fund the campaign’s rollout.
From that moment, the SCF team – guided daily by Haim and Marshall – set in motion a wide-ranging and highly coordinated effort:
· Rabbinical Proclamation: A landmark statement, signed by the majority of our community Rabbis, declared that registering to vote is both an obligation and a mitzvah, energizing the effort with moral clarity.
· School-Based Registration: Magen David Yeshivah, under the leadership of Gladys Haddad, mandated voter registration among its parent body in order to receive class cards. The result was extraordinary: a 99 percent registration rate in just three days. Yeshivot nationwide have since reached out, seeking to replicate this model.
· Synagogue Engagement: Congregation Shaare Zion instituted a policy requiring voter registration to reserve High Holiday seats, demonstrating the alignment of our institutions behind this effort.
· Community Registration Tables: Under the leadership of Linda Ebani, along with Rebecca Harary, volunteers have been running registration drives at summer events, synagogues, and local stores across Brooklyn, engaging our community at every level.
· Door-to-Door Canvassing: Joey Saban led a professional door-to-door campaign that has registered significant numbers of voters directly at their doorsteps.
· Direct Texting Campaign: Most recently, the group launched a major texting initiative targeting unregistered voters. In just a few days, the effort has registered hundreds, and it is rapidly expanding to registering thousands.
Together, these initiatives have already registered thousands of voters in just weeks. The goal is to register many thousands more before November, ensuring that our community’s voice is heard loud and clear in this critical mayoral election, and all future elections.
This campaign is a testament to what can be achieved when vision, leadership, and unity come together. The extraordinary dedication of Haim Dabah and Marshall Aronow, combined with the tireless efforts of the SCF team, has inspired a wave of civic engagement unlike anything our community has seen before.
With the upcoming mayoral election, we are living through uncertain times that call for decisive efforts – and community leadership is stepping up to the plate. With the continued energy and unity behind this campaign, the Sephardic Community is poised to play a significant role in shaping the future of our city and state.