Shmuley Boteach defeats 2 other candidates, cites Maccabees as inspiration.
By GIL STERN STERN SHEFLERRabbi Shmuley Boteach 370(photo credit: Courtesy Rabbi Shmuley Boteach)
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach has won the Republican nomination in the upcoming election for New Jersey’s 9th Congressional District.The prolific author of books such as Kosher Sex and Kosher Jesus, who is also a columnist for The Jerusalem Post, handily defeated two other candidates on Thursday and will square off against an as yet to be selected Democrat in the November 6 vote.“Thursday’s victory proves that the people of New Jersey’s 9th Congressional District are hungry for a values-based candidacy and have chosen the one candidate who can take the fight to whomever the Democrats nominate,” Boteach said.The “rabbi to the stars,” who used to be an adviser to the late singer Michael Jackson, will face a challenge winning the election in a heavily Democratic district. He said he drew inspiration for the tough political battle ahead from Jewish history.“People who claim this is an automatic ‘Democrat district’ should note that the Maccabees overcame a similar registration disadvantage,” he said, referring to the ragtag Jewish rebels who trounced the mighty Seleucid Empire in the 2nd century BCE.Meanwhile, Jewish Rep. Steve Rothman easily defeated Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. in the Bergen County Democratic primary last Thursday. Another vote, this time in Pascrell’s base of Passaic County, will take place March on 24 to choose the Democratic Party candidate in the congressional race. They are both competing in the 9th District because of redistricting.“I won the Republican nomination tonight, thank God, in an upset victory,” Boteach told the Post. “It was a decisive vote. [I’m] now starting my campaign in earnest, God willing.“I am grateful to God and to the Bergen County Republicans for the victory,” Shmuley said. “But I understand the real work is just beginning. People who claim this is an automatic Democrat district should note that the Maccabees overcame a similar registration disadvantage.”Click here for special JPost coverage
