Republican Joseph Hayon scored a media coup with his gathering of Orthodox Rabbis and Leaders to meet — REVEREND ERICK SALGADO — the only mayoral candidate running as a Social Conservative in the Democratic Party Primary

Hayon says that,  “When a campaign is focused on a specific constituency and the blogs and papers in that community cover you this favorably,  it’s no little deal — It’s a BIG DEAL !”

What the Orthodox Jewish political activist Hayon is talking about is the media coverage that one meeting, which he had arranged in one Orthodox Jewish Center in Brooklyn, has generated in what he calls the Orthodox media and in the general media.

For example, the coverage in Hamodia opened with a spotlight on the strong moral pronouncement of a respected Rabbi and leader: “Harav Avraham Yaakov Nelkenbaum, Rosh Yeshivah of Mir, took off from his night seder to express his support for Salgado.... [stating that Reverend Salgado] '... is strongly committed to stopping these [previously mentioned] perversions, the corruption of the minds and these [previously mentioned evil] actions,’ the Rosh Yeshivah said. ‘For the Alm-ghty, there are no long shots or short shots’.”  The piece in Hamodia closed with a clear statement of what the candidate would do for Orthodox Jews if he were to be elected mayor, “Salgado promised that if elected, he would curtail the liberalism that Mayor Michael Bloomberg has championed, push for greater public funding for yeshivos, and roll back city regulation of bris milah.” (See “With Focus on Morality, Salgado Carves Jewish Niche” by Yochonon Donn, 4/28/13, Hamodia [http://hamodia.com/2013/04/28/with-focus-on-morality-salgado-carves-jewish-niche/]).

The Yeshiva World News was both more effusive in its coverage and more specific as to what it meant for observant Jews: “Rabbi Avrohom Yaakov Nelkenbaum... told the gathering, ‘I’m excited for Mr. Salgado’s candidacy due to the fact that he’s dedicated and committed to safeguard our freedom to observe our religious practices and Torah values. In recent times, there were attempts to outlaw certain mitzvahs of the Torah…there were attempts to forbid them from using Mayim Shelanu (overnight well water) for the Matzohs, Metzitza B’Peh, even circumcision itself....  The Gemara says (Shabbos 54B) kol m’e sheyesh beyado lemchos, ve’ano moche, nitfas be’oso avon (if someone has it in his power to protest and prevent someone from doing a transgression and he doesn’t, he’s also punished for that transgression because he’s allowing it to happen and that way he’s aiding). So we have the ability to put someone in office who will hopefully be able to stem the tide and maybe even reverse it. That goes into the category of kol m’e sheyesh beyado lemchos…and therefore it’s incumbent on everyone to see that it happens (elect Salgado Mayor).” Of equal import, the article specifically noted an very significant  related occurrence — “Rabbi Nelkenbaum had previously signed a letter with seven other prominent rabbis stating it was a Mitzva Chiyuyes, a religious obligation, to support Salgado in his campaign for Mayor. The letter further defined the religious obligation to include “volunteering and donating as you would to any other charity organization.”( See “5 Brooklyn Rabbonim Show Support Erick Salgado’s Campaign for Mayor” 4/29/13, Yeshiva World News  [http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/article.php?p=166255]).

In addition, in what was perhaps the most significant political observation  in any of the coverage,  The Yeshiva World News article pointed out the Brooklyn rabbi and community leader’s favorable comparison of  the socially conservative Democrat Salgado’s race for mayor with those of two recent conservative Republicans, who had notable electoral successes in Brooklyn —  “Rabbi Nekelbaum concluded his talk by addressing those who thought that Salgado was a long shot by pointing out that God runs the world and that both Bob Turner and David Storobin were also long shots.”

Mr. Hayon said that he expects to use the heavy coverage of this past event to push Orthodox Jewish leaders in other parts of Brooklyn and the rest of the city to schedule similar events locally for the Reverend Salgado. He thinks that such spreading out around Brooklyn and elsewhere would show that what had been accomplished among Orthodox Jews in the Republican races for Storobin and Turner can be replicated county- and city-wide in the Democratic Party Primary with his strong socially conservative candidate, Erick Salgado.

Here’s the line-up of “Orthodox media” outlets that covered Hayon’s event for Reverend Erick Salgado:

http://hamodia.com/2013/04/28/with-focus-on-morality-salgado-carves-jewish-niche/ ; http://www.communitym.com/article.asp?article_id=102937&article_type=0 ; http://www.thevuesonline.com/publication.php (page 20) ; http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/article.php?p=166255 ; and http://unitedtosaveamerica.blogspot.com/2013/04/rosh-yeshiva-of-mir-rav-avrohom-yaakov.html .

This is in addition to what Joseph Hayon describes as the “general media,” (whose coverage had already been noted on this blog):

http://politicker.com/2013/04/democratic-mayoral-hopeful-headlines-event-wary-of-democratic-party-values/ ;  http://nymayor.blogspot.com/2013/04/erick-salgado-premises-defiance-and.html ;and  http://galewynmassey.blogspot.com/2013/04/joseph-hayons-efforts-for-conservative.html