Sam Berger has spent the last ten months hard at work in the New York State Assembly representing the electorate of District 27. There was no Democratic primary for the general election set for this upcoming November 5, when Berger will face local electrician Angelo King, a familiar face on the ballot, but who’s without the backing of the influential Orthodox Jewish bloc. Berger’s current term concludes New Years Day.
While in office, Berger has accrued noteworthy accomplishments, and this past October, he passed the state’s bar examination. Berger previously earned both his bachelor and a law degree from St. John’s University in Fresh Meadows. Berger has emerged as a leader rising as a stalwart defender of the Jewish community, echoing tones of his predecessor Daniel Rosenthal. From combating antisemitism, shielding Israel, and supporting local organizations, Berger has hit the ground running.
Last Wednesday, the backyard of the Shamsiev’s Park Drive East home filled with supporters launching what will become a communal effort for Berger to succeed to his first full term. Berger was championed by elected colleagues from his chamber who spoke passionately on the importance of having Jewish representation in Albany. They included Simcha Eichtenstein, David Weprin, and New York City Council Member Kalman Yeger, who is running uncontested for a Brooklyn Assembly seat after sweeping his June primary in a landslide triumph.
At the state Capitol, Berger has emerged as a powerful moderate voice, vying to bring normalcy back to the state legislature and pushing back on the Democratic Socialist of America’s efforts to demonize Israel and the Jewish people. To date, Berger has secured a million dollars in funding for local institutions. Safety was addressed through Queens Shmira, medical aid via our local branch of Hatzolah, outreach through Chazaq, and food insecurity through Tomchei Shabbos of Queens and Kehilat Sephardim Food Pantry.
“Am Yisrael is very, very lucky to have amazing leaders, and they’re very, very much needed,” said event emcee Rabbi Yaniv Meirov, rabbi at the nearby Cong. Charm Circle. “This past Sunday, Park Drive East was a very busy street,” continued Meirov, referring to the anti-Israel protests that ensued from an Israel real estate event that went virtual instead of being held at his shul. “The lesson is that unfortunately there is a very big attack on the Jewish people, and we need leaders like Assemblymember Berger, who is doing an amazing job in the Assembly” to protect our freedoms.
“This is my home,” stated Berger, who thanked his colleagues District Leader Shimi Pelman, incoming District Leader Keith Felsenfeld, who serves as Legislative Counsel at New York City Council, Rabbis Shlomo Nisanov, Hayim Schwartz, and Agudah’s Yeruchem Silber for attending. “I thought I was going to have some time to adjust, to learn the role of being in the Assembly, and then October 7 happened. I didn't have time because the anti-Semitism that had been bubbling in this country and around the world very clearly came to the surface. The Jewish people were hit with a stark reminder that no matter where we are in time there are always going to be those who want to demonize us. Unfortunately, our neighborhood saw that firsthand this week. On Sunday, not even a few yards away from where we're standing, protesters came waving Hezbollah terrorist flags screaming ‘Intifada,’ ‘death to America,’ ‘death to Israel,’ ‘death to the Jewish people.’ The event that they came to protest the venue was changed. It wasn't even going to be here, and they knew that, but it was never about the event. It's never about actually protesting Israel. It's not about Zionism; it's not really about Palestinians either. It's not about Gaza; it's really about hating the Jewish people. The videos are out there, you can see firsthand what they said, what they did, the way that they treated people who were just passing by, waving money at Jews. Sadly, it's not just in our streets; it's in our state houses, as my colleagues have said, there are elected officials who are pushing these beliefs. I'll call them out, the so-called Democratic Socialists of America. They're pushing bills like the Not on Our Dime Act that would defund any nonprofit who has the audacity to support Israel is the dark times that we're living in, certainly the darkest of my generation.”
“Sam and I got to know each other,” explained Council Member Yeger. “And what you have seen in him is what you’ve seen in a lot of the frum younger elected officials like Simcha Eichenstein. The idea about what you've been seeing in New York and the work that people in the community can do to combat it is never more important than what you're doing here tonight. You're helping to support an election for a guy who has devoted a part of his life, including from his family, to go do public service. We have an achrayus to support him and that's why I came out.”
The Council Member explained that by sending Berger to Albany, “we are standing up and saying that we are here, and we are not going anywhere. This is a city and a state that we built as a community.”
Eichenstein praised Berger’s persistence at passing “serious” legislation – unheard of for a member in their first year. Eichenstein noted that “changing the penal law is one of the toughest things to do in Albany.” Not only did Berger successfully get a bill passed in his first year, but he also amended the penal law. “I didn't believe he'll get it; nobody did. Everyone told him you're making a mistake. Dozens of times he came out of the office with staff and leadership frustrated.” However, Berger remained steadfast. “I'm not giving up,” he told Eichenstein, despite being told that “it's time to move on to something else.” Ultimately, “he got it done.” Eichenstein noted that even though this was the third bill he had passed, Berger got a standing ovation from the Assembly, normally something reserved for members on their first law, “because he was such a pest about it, and I say that as a compliment. He was so annoying; he didn't give up; he was persistent; he was relentless; he was committed to getting this done.” Eichenstein expressed, “In his first year, Sam has passed legislation on quality of life, and has taken a leading role on the issue of anti-Semitism,” adding, “Sam is not afraid to stand up to the anti Semites. There's no political calculations. He is outspoken.”
“Sam really has hit the ground running,” said Assemblymember Weprin. “He has really become a very effective member in his first year. In addition to his fighting for the Jewish community, he goes beyond fighting for the general community as well.” Berger is a member of the Insurance Committee that Weprin chairs, and has already passed a couple of bills in the committee early on. “He knows how to work with everybody, which is very important in Albany.” Weprin noted that when he first came to Albany over a decade and a half ago, members could not speak so openly against Israel, but the Hamas attack has emboldened hatred. Weprin called out Astoria’s DSA Assemblymember Zohran Kwame Mamdani for his anti-Semitic stances, explaining that Berger’s election stands in face of such venom against Israel.
Berger explained how his colleagues are united in the fight for the Jewish people in Albany and we can do the same here not by necessarily swinging back, but by being smarter and better than them. “When we throw a punch, we need to make sure that it counts. In the past year that I've been in the Assembly, I have done nothing but fight for the Jewish people, and fight for District 27. When I win in November, I'm going to keep fighting for the Jewish people. I'm not going to stand down or be afraid, and I'm going to make sure that my punches count.”
By Shabsie Saphirstein
