CEO Ezra Friedlander on David Weprin's run for Congress
Ezra Friedlander, the firm’s CEO, said Orthodox voters would ultimately support Weprin because of his track record on other issues. Friedlander cited everything from Weprin’s strong stance against the Department of Health’s efforts to ban certain circumcision rites, to the fact Weprin once came under rocket attack in Israel while delivering bulletproof vests, to his extensive efforts to fight autism.
“David Weprin is better qualified to represent this community than probably anyone who has ever run for Congress,” Friedlander said. “Of course you’re not going to see eye-to-eye on every single issue. But if you look at the totality, it’s not even a race.”
(Excerpt from Crains Insider:)It's Gay Marriage, Stupid
It was Assemblyman David Weprin's vote for same-sex marriage—not Ed Koch's support for Bob Turner in protest of President Barack Obama's treatment of Israel—that galvanized Orthodox Jews to vote for Turner in last week's congressional election, said consultant Ezra Friedlander. “Gay marriage was the red meat,” said Friedlander, who worked for the Weprin campaign on the Jewish vote. “Israel was just a side dish, a good dessert.” The irony: The credit for Weprin's defeat accrued to Koch, whom Orthodox Jews once vilified for banning organizations with city contracts from discriminating against gays.
