No Modern Orthodox Jew ever ran for Congress from New Jersey – until this past election when my husband, Daryl Kipnis, stepped up in New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District. (Editor’s note: He lost last week to Bonnie Watson Coleman.)
As a Modern Orthodox Jewish family, we keep a kosher home and try our best to observe all holidays, but the campaign didn’t always make matters easy for us. Non-kosher events are scheduled on Shabbos, and if you don’t show up, you jeopardize losing critical campaign support.
Often, that meant booking a hotel room or planning around Shabbos. I repeatedly tried to explain to my husband’s campaign team that Friday nights and Saturdays were off limits for us, but the pushback was unbelievable. You’ll have no future in politics, they said, if you skip this rally or that fundraiser or aren’t available to meet voters.
The sacrifices and struggles were quite real, which is perhaps why so few observant Jews run for office. But it’s doable – and we did it.
I remember I once brought my three-and-a-half-year-old son to an event, and someone asked me why he had “that thing” on his head. She was referring to his kippah, of course. I explained what a kippah was, but plenty of people were just not used to an observant Jewish family in politics in our part of New Jersey.
Since my husband is a huge advocate for Israel, many people asked us, “What comes first, America or Israel?” People criticized my husband for his advocacy of a one-state solution and his fight against BDS. But my husband wasn’t – and isn’t – afraid to be in the minority. He’s a strong leader who wants to make sure America always stands with Israel in every way.
He received extra motivation to push his pro-Israel agenda when he saw his opponent post pro-Palestinian news articles online, painting Israel as an evil country that “hurts innocent Palestinians.” His opponent neglected to tell voters that the hurt Palestinians in these articles were terrorists.
One of my favorite parts of the campaign was attending my husband’s big fundraiser at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey. All the food was kosher vegetarian – as both my husband and I are vegetarians – and over 275 people came out to show their support for Daryl.
Running for office with Donald Trump as president was particularly gratifying for my husband. Knowing that he was working to serve alongside Trump, who loves Israel – as well as Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner – empowered my husband, knowing he would be accepted and welcomed in Washington, DC as a Modern Orthodox Jew. Indeed, now that the long campaign is over, my husband’s main wish is to go to the White House Chanukah Party.
It was a long road as an Orthodox Jewish Republican family, but we learned a lot. I hope people learned a lot about us too – especially Daryl’s pro-Israel and Make America Great Again agenda.