REPORT ON KIRYAS JOEL ELECTION - 2008

The Kiryas Joel elections were virtually flawless, according to today’s newspaper account. Consider this, at about 9:40 pm, I walked out of the banquet hall at 55 Forest Road. Joel Liebowitz, a member of the Kiryas Joel Alliance, was on my left and a peace officer named Kevin was on my right. Gedalye Szegedin, the Village Clerk, had just told me that there was a “Mob” outside and they might be angry at me. He suggested I use a “side door” out and ensured me a police escort. Just before those words, Andy Fisher, Esq., the village’s lawyer with whom I had worked for the 16 prior hours, told the 20-30 KJ election officials that he had something to say, “It was a pleasure working with Michael Sussman today”. There were some guffaws, but pats almost all around for a job well done.

I left the banquet hall and there stood, perhaps 20 feet in front of me a mob of what looked like 300-400 young men. Screaming “musa” [traitor] repeatedly, the men congregated in front of the entire banquet hall. As I walked to me right, the crowd closed and followed. We kept walking down a driveway, across a side street, onto a sidewalk and into the shopping center parking lot in which my old van was parked with its provocative political signs. As we walked, the crowd closed and screamed. A single plastic bottle landed about two feet in front of us. We walked. Joel yelled “louder, louder”, to the mob. I felt no fear, just pride that we had been able to catch some young boys, who had no right to do so, trying to vote, pride that the KJ Alliance had gained about 42% of the vote. As we walked, I felt cascading memories of somewhat like mobs in Yonkers twenty years ago, one particularly, which chased me, then more agile, up a lamppost....

As I entered my van, I realized this night was very different. The boys started to surround the van on all sides. Joel was outside. Kevin, the security officer, was trying to clear a path for my van. A truck was parked head on against my vehicle. I could only go backwards, into a crowd of hundreds of fist-clenched young men who had pure hatred on their faces and in their hearts. They were screaming; there were rocking my van. Joel screamed, “let me in’. I had to make a choice: open the locked doors [all at once] and risk entry by some of these boys or leave Joel out there. I quickly opened the door. Joel jumped in. The boys kept pounding their fists and objects on the car. I saw a flashing light behind me, a police car. I heard Kevin scream, “Move back or I am going to start to spray”. I thought of Kevin: what did I know about him and how he had the courage to stand between me and this mob: at about 2:30 one morning the prior fall, he had given mouth-to-mouth to a young African-American college student at Sullivan County Community College. The young man died, likely in his arms. There was no defibrillator. I knew that Kevin and other “peace officers” had tried to prevent the boys from forming a gauntlet outside of the banquet hall for most of the 15 hours we had been there that day. Now, Kevin kept screaming and finally I pulled back. I turned the wheel to my right and cleared the car parked to my left and moved past one ongoing car, which I was sure was intent on blocking our exit. We jumped traffic and turned right on Forest Road, past the so-called “Sussman” synagogue [another story], toward home...

A few blocks later, Joel asked me to review with him the results of the election. He inquired whether his presence at my side had given me more courage to face the mob. He finally asked to be dropped off. I obliged and then went beyond the street I needed to turn onto to get back to civilization. I got home at about 10:00 a.m. I had eaten chocolate at about 8:15 pm and could not tell at first whether my agitation was so induced [as often] or really more the result of having the van almost flipped and feeling so endangered. After quite a while alone, I realized that had these boys wanted to kill me, they could have and likely would have. Lynch mobs usually finished off their blacks targets. So, their intent, I reasoned, was different: to instill fear, to reclaim their turf from me. I realized I had directed many of them and their leaders that day, that I had stood between some of them and voter fraud, that I was the symbol, that day and for years before, for them of the imposition of outside, secular authority. I realized that they were fanatical and angry at me and at what I represent - some limit to their efforts to emulate the control their elders once had in KJ. And, I thought hard about what the Village Clerk had said to me earlier: “I don’t mind the KJ Alliance running candidates in village elections; what bothers me is that we are not altogether in other elections. They have broken the bloc vote and we can’t get the money we used to. Why did they have to do that.”

So, I thank Kevin that I am alive. He could not save Robert Bastian, the young college student whose heart gave out. He did save me. I am pleased I did not floor my van and simply drive backwards into the mob. Health willing, I will be in KJ again for next year’s election. I do not intend to exit a side or back door.

For those who tried to make yesterday’s election something we could all be proud of - on all sides, my compliments and thanks. To those who believe that the election is another occasion for intimidation and domination, forget about it.

September 7, 2004

Dear New Voter,

Thanks for registering to vote on September 4 when we came to your home orotherwise met you in Middletown. We are pleased that you will be eligible to votein the critical election our country faces this November and urge you to do so.

George W. Bush has failed to keep his promises to Americans, running up a hugenational deficit and making our country less safe. Think about it: are Americans safer now than on September 12, 2001? It is hard to believe we are. Our Presidenthas enraged Moslems throughout the world. He has declared war on an entirecivilization and this is no way to lasting peace. His education plans have failed toraise student achievement. He has provided the rich significant tax breaks, but theeconomy has created far fewer new jobs than during any administration since the1920's.

The Democratic Alliance hopes you will take your right to vote seriously andjoin us on November 2, 2004 and replace our current national administration. Webelieve new leadership will at least be a start to regaining our respect around theworld and provide for sustained economic progress here in our beloved country.

If you want to become more involved in registering others to vote and helping toadvance our country, please call me directly at 294-3991.

Sincerely,
Michael Sussman, Convener, Democratic Alliance of Orange County

P.S. I am enclosing a schedule of events you may want to participate in.