Legis. Mazi Pilip again shows support for Israel ; UPDATED with UPenn resignation

                                                                                 

Mazi Pilip

While the political world erupted with news from Politico.com last week that Nassau Legis. Mazi Pilip of Great Neck is a registered Democrat who runs and caucuses as a Republican, nobody is noting her strong support for Israel. 

Pilip is a black, Orthodox Jew and former Israeli paratrooper who was born in Ethiopia and airlifted to Israel in a rescue operation when she was 12. 

Pilip joined with Republican County Executive Bruce Blakeman last month in calling for the resignation of Hofstra University President Susan Poser for not condemning Hamas after the terrorist group massacred more than 1,000 Israeli citizens and took 139 hostages, including babies and grandmothers.

In a statement she said then, "I join with many other Jewish leaders in calling on Dr. Poser to resign her position immediately. She has proven that she does not have the interest of students at heart and is unable to lead this college. I will continue to use my platform to condemn Hamas and stand for Israel and the Jewish community worldwide.”

Pilip used her platform again last week by displaying posters of kidnapped Israeli children in front of her seat on the legislative dias at the Nassau legislature.

 Nobody said a word about Pilip's posters, apparently the first ever posted on the legislative dias.

So Pilip posted a photo of her with the posters in front of her legislative chair. 

                                                                                

Pilip did not name but made reference in her post to the three Ivy League University presidents who testified before Congress last week that they needed "context" before they could condemn calls for killing Jews. 

The presidents of Harvard, University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have since been roundly criticized by left and right, donors and students for not condemning antisemitism even while -- at least at Harvard -- classifying misgendering as "abuse."

The three basically said much the same thing as Poser had said about the Hamas attack: "There is a complex history and conflicting views about the causal underpinnings of the current crisis."

So where is the two-page press release from NY state Assemb. Charles Lavine. a Glen Cove Democrat, defending the three university presidents and labeling calls for their resignation as "a partisan political threat to academic freedom," as he did when Blakeman called for Poser's resignation?

Meanwhile, Nassau Republicans say they not only knew Pilip was a registered Democrat but considered that a plus for a GOP candidate running in Great Neck, which voted Democrat for decades until Pilip first won in 2021.

They point out that departing longtime County Legis. Denise Ford of Long Beach is a registered Democrat who caucused with Republicans and ran on the GOP line while North Hempstead Supervisor Jennifer DeSena, who just won re-election to her town post as a Republican, also is a registered Democrat.

And though Politico reported it had "uncovered" Pilip's registration, voter registration rolls are public records. Of course, this is Nassau, which means the registration rolls are not publicly posted anywhere and are treated like state secrets.

Pilip is among more than 20 people being screened by Nassau Republicans to run for the Congressional District 3 seat vacated by Republican George Santos when the U.S. House voted to expel him for fabricating parts of his background and allegedly misusing campaign funds. Democrats have nominated former Congressman Tom Suozzi to run as their candidate in the special election Feb. 13.

Tom Suozzi

The Nassau Republican Committee said in a statement: ""Mazi Pilip has been a registered Democrat since 2012 and she was nominated to run on the Republican and Conservative lines in her two successful Nassau Legislative races because she was the best person for the office.  She caucuses with Republicans in the Legislature, and she has been philosophically in sync with the Republican Team." 

UPDATE:

Looks like at least one of the three university presidents has responded to the calls for resignation.

University of Pennsylvania alumni received this email today:

A Message to the Penn Community 

December 9, 2023

Dear Members of the Penn Community,

I write to share that President Liz Magill has voluntarily tendered her resignation as President of the University of Pennsylvania. She will remain a tenured faculty member at Penn Carey Law.
 
On behalf of the entire Penn community, I want to thank President Magill for her service to the University as President and wish her well. 
 
We will be in touch in the coming days to share plans for interim leadership of Penn. President Magill has agreed to stay on until an interim president is appointed.   
 
President Magill shared the following statement, which I include here: 

“It has been my privilege to serve as President of this remarkable institution. It has been an honor to work with our faculty, students, staff, alumni, and community members to advance Penn’s vital missions.”

Best,

Scott L. Bok
Chair, Board of Trustees
University of Pennsylvania