Will Congressman Pat Ryan Duck Difficult Constitutional Questions During Town Hall?
Residents of Rockland, Sullivan, and Orange County find themselves living under theocratic rule from Rebbes Aaron and Zalman Teitelbaum, among others. The Constitution provides a solution.
Above: Congressman Pat Ryan (center) poses for photos in South Blooming Grove with Joel Stern (with scissors) and Isaac Ekstein (far right). Both men run the Village of South Blooming Grove and currently preside over an ongoing water emergency that they deny exists, despite documents provided by Orange County that say otherwise. (Such as this one.)
On the Congressman’s immediate left is Simon Schwartz, a Town of Blooming Grove Board member facing an ethics investigation of his own. All three men recently attended a conference with Haredi real estate interests to coordinate further transformation of South Blooming Grove into a city.
On Wednesday, July 31st, 2024, Congressman Pat Ryan will hold a telephone town hall.
He will also not discuss how he has been completely and utterly unresponsive to concerns raised by residents of South Blooming Grove and Southern Orange County about the lack of federal intervention from the EPA and FBI. The Congressman’s office and staff were notified about these issues back in April, 90 days ago, and asked to urge those agencies to act
It’s now nearly August and the Congressman has not acted.
Specifically, Congressman Ryan’s office has not responded to the deprivation of Southern Orange County residents rights granted to them by the Constitution’s Guarantee Clause, which states:
"The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence." (Emphasis Added.)
The final version of the Guarantee Clause, the one you just read, was authored by James Madison, one of our Founding Fathers.
Madison explained what he meant by “Republican Form of Government” by saying in Federalist No. 39 — Which, by the way, was addressed to the people of the State of New York:
"[W]e may define a republic to be, or at least may bestow that name on, a government which derives all its powers directly or indirectly from the great body of the people, and is administered by persons holding their offices during pleasure, for a limited period, or during good behavior. It is ESSENTIAL to such a government that it be derived from the great body of the society, not from an inconsiderable proportion, or a favored class of it; . . . It is SUFFICIENT for such a government that the persons administering it be appointed, either directly or indirectly, by the people; and that they hold their appointments by either of the tenures just specified[.]" (Emphasis Added.)
As further explained on the official website of Congress:
"In light of its text and framing, the Guarantee Clause was intended to be more than an authorization for the federal government to protect states against foreign invasion or internal insurrection, a power already conferred elsewhere in the Constitution. While the precise contours of what constitutes a republican form of government are debatable, an additional object of the Guarantee Clause was to prevent states from establishing monarchical or despotic governments." (Emphasis Added.)
In Orange and Sullivan County, that monarchial rule can be found under the guise of varying governing bodies controlled by followers of both Zalman Teitelbaum and Aaron Teitelbaum.
In Rockland, there are various other Haredi communities, some of whom hold local government positions and act on behalf of their religious leaders, as observed with the East Ramapo School District.
(To be clear: These claims are not the same that greeted members of other religious groups, such as Catholics and my fellow Jews in the 18th, 19th, and 20th Centuries about having “dual loyalties.” In this specific case, we’re talk about members of a specific religious sect who have a specific Rebbe at the center of their daily lives, and strictly adhere to what that specific Rebbe suggests. I know I said specific a lot just now, but it’s important to stress this point.)
The Supreme Court has ruled three times (Baker v. Carr, Pac. States Tel. & Tel. Co. v. Oregon, and Luther v. Borden) that the enforcement and implementation of the Guarantee Clause fall under the purview of Congress, not the Supreme Court.
That makes enforcement and correction of this issue, which affects residents in Orange County (Pat Ryan), Rockland County (Mike Lawler), and Sullivan County (Marc Molinaro), the domain of its congressional representatives.
Today, we will focus on Congressman Ryan, but that does not let Lawler or Molinaro off the hook. Each of the three Congressional representatives will need to act to address these issues in a way that’s fair and equitable for all parties involved. No one is looking or asking for preferential treatment, we are asking for equal treatment, which is a right guaranteed to all Americans by the 14th Amendment.
Where the Guarantee Clause is concerned, as recently as 2019, Chief Justice John Roberts said in Rucho v. Common Cause that the Guarantee Clause was not within the purview of the Supreme Court to enforce.
The following year, in the Spring of 2020, representatives of Rebbe Zalman Teitelbaum conducted a takeover campaign of the Village of South Blooming Grove. A campaign that the FBI was called in to investigate due to verifiable allegations of voter fraud.
Following that takeover, members of the South Blooming Grove Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals were replaced exclusively by members of the Satmar community. Residents of South Blooming Grove got an up close and personal look at what that kind of representation means on Thursday, July 25th, 2024.
The Village Government then extended their length of time in office from two years to four years, and began colluding with Haredi developers to rapidly build, and approve the construction of, a new city.
The most recent example of that collusion can be found in the latest issue of The United Jewish Community of Blooming Grove's newsletter. This was posted to Ivelt.com on July 5th, 2024. Through its actions and official communications, the UJC of Blooming Grove meets both the FBI and Southern Poverty Law Center’s definition of a hate group.
Despite reports elsewhere in the media, this organization is also NOT a not-for-profit organization, having had its status revoked in May of 2022 for not filing the required annual paperwork.
The following pages from the July 5th newsletter describe a meeting attended by Village of South Blooming Grove employees and de facto mayors Issac Ekstein and Joel Stern, and Town of Blooming Grove Councilmember Simon Schwartz. At the meeting, Haredi developers discussed how they can coordinate their efforts to continue turning South Blooming Grove into a city.
Above: The July 5th, 2024 newsletter from Joel Stern and Isaac Ekstein’s United Jewish Community of Blooming Grove details a meeting held with Haredi developers. The meeting was to discuss coordinating their efforts to further build out the new city despite the water emergency and limited sewer capacity provided by Orange County Sewer District 1.
No representatives from the non-Haredi community were invited or made aware of this meeting, what was discussed, and what was approved.
The meeting was facilitated, according to the above newsletter, by Moche Halpern and Lazer Schvimmer of Blooming Realty.
(Readers of The Monroe Gazette can use the Google Translate app on their phone to translate the above from Yiddish to English, but just be aware that the translation is closer to 80% accurate than it is 100%.)
This company, Blooming Realty, often has business before the Village Board where Mr. Stern and Mr. Ekstein do not recuse themselves, despite Mr. Moche Halpern being a fellow member of Mr. Stern and Mr. Ekstein's United Jewish Community Organization.
At the Thursday, July 25th, 2024 meeting of the Zoning Board of Appeals in South Blooming Grove, the ZBA Board approved a requested variance for Mr. Ekstein’s own schul without discussing or investigating his connection of the property, a violation of NYS Municipal law.
Mr. Moche Halpern is currently suing the Village of Washingtonville to claim everyone in the Village is antisemitic, and his real estate transactions are currently being examined by the FBI for possible charges of money laundering.
Not to be outdone by his brother Zalman, in August 2023, Rebbe Aaron Teitelbaum, who governs Kiryas Joel through a theocratic government, declared parts of neighboring Monroe, Woodbury, and Blooming Grove to be under his purview. He also declared the Village of South Blooming Grove to be under his domain, giving it the name of Divrei Chaim.
Regardless of which brother is in charge of South Blooming Grove at this time, it is plainly obvious that residents of South Blooming Grove — and increasingly, residents of Woodbury who live in areas controlled by the Rebbe, such as Highland Lake Estates — no longer have a republican form of government.
In the case of Highland Lake Estates, the Woodbury Police Chief, working on behalf of Rebbe Teitelbaum, has covered up the murder of a bear and made up a false religious exemption in the Town Code. This was done to keep Haredi residents out of legal trouble so as not to upset the Rebbe. Mr. Kevin Watson, the police chief, is alleged by residents to hold private security contracts with vendors in Kiryas Joel despite making $190,000+ (as of 2022) from Town of Woodbury taxpayers.
When questioned about the police chief's conflicts of interest with Kiryas Joel and Rebbe Teitelbaum, the Woodbury Town Board dismissed residents' questions as anti-police and wore T-shirts to their most recent Town Hall. The t-shirts declared they support the local police department.
Above: Instead of answering questions from residents about their concerns with Chief Watson’s potential conflict of interest with Rebbe Teitelbaum, the Woodbury Town Board wore t-shirts instead to their July 18th, 2024 Town Board meeting.
What residents of Southern Orange County increasingly do have is a "monarchial or despotic government," which Congress itself has said the Guarantee Clause is meant to prohibit.
It is, therefore, Congressman Pat Ryan's responsibility, and in similar cases in Rockland County, Congressman Mike Lawler's and Congressman Marc Molinaro's in Sullivan County, to take action on behalf of all residents who find themselves increasingly under the rule of the Teitelbaums and similar religious leaders.
What Can You Do?
The Telephone Town Hall with Congressman Ryan will take place between 7:30pm and 8:30pm EST on Wednesday, July 31st.
During that time, constituents are encouraged to call the following number 866-767-0662 at 7:30pm.
Even if you don’t live in the area, I encourage you to help residents of Southern Orange County call out Pat Ryan for ignoring this issue.
The Congressman invites people who can't call during that time to call his District Office at (845) 443-2930. But as mentioned, the District Office (and the DC office) are well aware of these issues and have not, at all, replied to concerns raised by residents about them. (If you read this article after Monday, please feel free to call the Congressman’s office just the same. Until he acts, we shouldn’t stop asking.)
Given that the Congressman's office does not return calls or emails from Southern Orange County residents concerning the issues in South Blooming Grove and the Surrounding area — including Monroe and Woodbury — this Telephone Town Hall may be your only opportunity to ask the Congressman directly to fulfill his obligations as your elected representative before the upcoming election.
The event will be live-streamed at the following location: patryan.house.gov/live
I am encouraging residents of South Blooming Grove and the Surrounding area to call-in at 7pm EST during the Live Stream at 866-767-0662 and ask the Congressman the following two questions. But as mentioned, even if you don’t live in the area, and you want to help, you can call too.
What can you say?
You can read from the following statement when you make your call:
The Supreme Court ruled enforcement of the federal Constitution's Guarantee Clause falls under the jurisdiction of Congress.
The Guarantee Clause says, in part, that the United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government.
One of our founding fathers, James Madison, explained that a Republican Form of Government means, "It is ESSENTIAL to such a government that it be derived from the great body of the society, not from an inconsiderable proportion, or a favored class of it.”
Question 1: According to the Orange County Department of Health, the people of South Blooming Grove do not have access to clean water, nor do they have enough water to serve the area's current and future population.
I'd like to ask the Congressman why he continues to ignore the pleas of residents in South Blooming Grove, while simultaneously posing for photos with the same people, Joel Stern and Isaac Ekstein, who are actively making this water emergency worse?
Question 2: I'd like to ask the Congressman what his plans are to help enforce the Guarantee Clause of the Constitution, a document he took an oath to uphold, to ensure that all residents of the Hudson Valley have a Republican form of government. As we can see with East Ramapo’s school district in Rockland, and with South Blooming Grove’s village government in Orange county, that is less and less the case. I am greatly concerned about the encroachment of the local theocracy on our municipal governments. How do you plan to protect them?
If you cannot place your call at 7:30 pm EST on Wednesday, July 31st, I encourage you to make the same call (script above) to Congressman Ryan’s district office on Monday morning, July 29th, at (845) 443-2930.
If you live in Rockland County, the above can be read to representatives of Mike Lawler (just skip that first question) by calling his district office tomorrow (Monday) at (845) 201-2060.
If you live in Sullivan County, there is no listed phone number for Marc Molinaro’s office, but you can call his Washington office at: (202) 225-5441.
What we need is a Hudson Valley-wide movement to push our three congressional representatives to take bold and immediate action to peacefully resolve these issues. Doing so will create guardrails which will allow all of us to live together in harmony and be free to live or worship however we choose.
Without those guardrails, thousands of residents in our region will find themselves under the rule of a theocratic government that does not concern itself with issues that challenge all of us such as climate change.