New York elects first ever Hasidic Jewish woman to hold public office in US
The lawyer and community volunteer is a political novice
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Rachel Freier, a New York lawyer and mother-of-three children, will this week begin work as America’s first woman from ultra-Orthodox Hasidic community to serve as an elected official.
Ms Freier was last month sworn in a a New York Civil Court judge, having own an election earlier in the year, in which she beat two other lawyers contesting Brooklyn’s 5th Judicial District seat.
She was sworn in last month at the city’s Borough Hall in an event that included a Yiddish rendition of God Bless America, according to Vosizneias.com
“As a result of the vision of the founding fathers of this great country, I was able to maintain the standards of a woman from the Hasidic community and achieve the position of civil court judge,” she said.
“For this I thank God, and I thank America, and I pray that God continues to bless America.”
She added: “This is a dream. It’s the American dream.”
The Associated Press said Ms Freier, who begins work on Tuesday, is a real estate lawyer who volunteers in family court and in her community, where she serves as a paramedic.
The news agency said there is no official tally of the religious affiliation of the nation’s judges. However, experts are not aware of any instance of an Hasidic woman serving before Ms Freier won her post. Indeed, it is rare even in Israel for Hasidic or other ultra-Orthodox women to hold any elected position.
Ms Freier, a political newcomer whose uncle is a former judge, won a three-way Democratic primary and the general election in a swath of Brooklyn that includes the heavily Hasidic Borough Park neighborhood.
Her election was “a step for the ultra-Orthodox community at large”, showing it is open to women making progress on the political ladder, said Yossi Gestetner, a longtime Hasidic political activist and public relations consultant who co-managed Ms Freier’s campaign.
Hasids and other ultra-Orthodox groups together make up only 6 percent of America's estimated 5.3m adult Jews, according to a 2013 Pew Research Centre study.
Dating to 18th-century Eastern Europe, Hasidism combines strict adherence to Jewish law and a belief in mysticism.
Followers often speak Yiddish, wear traditional dress including beards and sidelocks for men, and wigs for married women, and separate men and women in various situations, ranging from buses to classrooms.
“The very idea that an ultra-Orthodox woman could be a judge is notable”, said Samuel Heilman, a City University of New York sociology professor.
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