New York Senators Brief SCF on Foreign Policy

As the White House was preparing to release to the public news of death Osama Bin Laden’s death, both of New York’s United States Senators—Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand—were briefing 100 community leaders in the Midwood home of Joe and Trina Cayre on the key foreign policy challenges relating to the safety of the State of Israel. All were there to honor the Sephardic Community Federation (SCF), which in turn presented its highest honor—the annual Jacob Barsimon Award to Senator Gillibrand “in recognition of her exceptional service to the public and her dedication to improving the lives of all New Yorkers.”

New York City Councilman David G. Greenfield, the former Executive Vice President of the SCF, said, “it was an impressive evening made all the more impressive, retrospectively, by the news that broke later that night and the fact that New York’s two US Senators dropped by to chat with community leaders about foreign policy. It was the kind of engaging and dynamic evening that is an SCF hallmark.”

For Senator Schumer, a visit with the SCF is always a homecoming. He addressed current threats facing Israel and the United States, including terrorism and Iran, and restated his longstanding commitment to the security of Israel. Schumer spoke candidly of his relationships with President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Councilman Greenfield introduced Senator Gillibrand and praised her as “intelligent, articulate, compassionate and possessing classic Brooklyn chutzpa,” noting that she refuses to give up when the interests of New Yorkers are at stake. Greenfield recounted how Gillibrand kept pushing the $4.3 billion health benefits bill for 9/11 first responders, even when everyone else assumed it would fail. Ultimately, her chutzpah won the day.

Senator Gillibrand, who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, expressed her concerns about developments in the Middle East, including Al Qaeda, and stressed the importance of shutting down all possible financing tools for Iran’s nuclear program. She spoke movingly of visiting Israel, and meeting parents whose children have to play in bomb shelters. As a parent, she said, she cannot imagine living with the possibility that her own child might be attacked at school or on the way home.

Senator Gillibrand also discussed her approach to deficit reduction and health care reform. She argued that the key elements of health reform that go into effect by 2014 all have bipartisan origins, and that increasing competition in the insurance industry is a business model for lowering costs.

SCF is led by co-chairs Haim Dabah and Ronald Tawil and President Sam Sutton. Ronald Tawil thanked the evening’s hosts: “For many decades, the extraordinary leadership qualities that members of the Cayre family have demonstrated have always placed them at the forefront of all of the key charitable and philanthropic projects of our community. It is truly special people such as yourselves that make a significant impact on the lives of so many others.”

Regarding SCF, Tawil reflected, “In so many ways we are now setting the tone and leading the trends. Simply put: We do what we say, and we say what we do.”

Ronald Tawil also introduced Shai Franklin, SCF’s new Executive Director, whose background includes community advocacy in Washington, at the United Nations, and around the world.

“Shai comes to us with the very best of qualifications to help lead SCF into the future,” Tawil said. “Jeff Leb, our interim Executive Director, agreed to help us through the transition and has done so in an exemplary and most professional manner. We wish him the best of luck in his new political consulting firm.”

The Sephardic Community Federation is the umbrella government relations and public policy organization representing the Sephardic Jewish community. SCF has a wide public policy portfolio which focuses on empowering community organizations, schools and synagogues. Alleviating the tuition burden on parents is SCF’s top priority. To that end, political engagement is the key to SCF’s success. Its latest initiative, which launched just this month in conjunction with TEACH NYS, is a contest for elementary school students to register new voters. Kids that register new voters are eligible for many different prizes, including an iPad 2. The goal is to further expand political participation in the community and display to elected officials a united community.

“What makes the SCF so unique is that we bring together the community’s top leaders for one purpose: to help ensure the future of our community,” Sam Sutton concluded.
____________________
Thank you Morris Gindi for all the photos.