Two Orthodox Jewish Mayors Sworn Into Office • Jewish Breaking News

Two Orthodox Jewish mayors who were sworn in this past week: Michele Weiss as mayor of University Heights, Ohio, and Justin Brasch as mayor of White Plains, New York. Weiss is one of the first Orthodox Jewish women to win such an office. Currently, Orthodox Jews serve as mayors in Florida, New York State, and New Jersey; Florida boasts several Orthodox Jewish mayors, with Seth Salver, sworn in as mayor of Bal Harbour in November bringing the count to three.

Michele Weiss

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Weiss grew up in a Conservative home and came to Orthodox Judaism in high school through NCSY, the youth outreach arm of the Orthodox Union. She joined Congregation Zichron Chaim in University Heights as a member of the congregation. Her religious observance has not posed a problem during her run for mayor, and she developed a contingency plan with her rabbi for handling matters that may need her attention on Shabbat and holidays.

After moving to University Heights in 1997, she worked in the local Hebrew day school, Hebrew Academy of Cleveland, first as controller and then as chief financial officer. She also previously held political positions, having been elected to a seat on the city council and later as vice mayor.

Weiss told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that she chose to run for the office because she wanted to represent the burgeoning Orthodox Jewish population and “to make a kiddush Hashem.”

“I want to make sure that the Jewish community is seen in a good light, and that’s what I want to portray as a Jewish woman, as an Orthodox Jewish woman, and just make sure that that permeates,” she said.

Weiss also talked about the growth of the Jewish community in Cleveland, which has expanded thanks to a low cost of living and school vouchers. “It is the largest Orthodox contingency of residents in the state of Ohio, at this point it’s about 20-25%” she said. “They definitely need to be represented, but of course, I represent everyone in the city, not just the Jewish residents.”

The Republican, who nevertheless defines herself as non-partisan, won 56% of the vote after running on campaign promises to share resources with neighboring communities, build new municipal buildings, and unify the city. The previous mayor, Michael Dylan Brennan, had been a divisive figure who had banned Weiss from city properties and forbidden his colleagues from meeting with her until she took office. Weiss hopes to bring healing to the city following his tenure by hosting events that “show the diversity of our residents.”

Weiss works in many other capacities as a community activist. Along with two other women, she founded the AMATZ Initiative, which “strives to partner with principals and educators and provide training to reach, connect and engage their students emotionally, intellectually and spiritually,” according to its mission statement. She is also on the board of the Community Relations Committee at the Jewish Federation of Cleveland and YACHAD, a Jewish organization that provides assistance to the disabled.

“I really feel that we’re put on this world to make a difference, and I felt that there needed to be a voice for a lot of reasons,” she said. “I can relate to the secular world and the Jewish world and the Orthodox world, so I can fill that void and that spectrum knowing how to speak to certain people appropriately. I don’t think every religious leader can do that, so I have that ability, and I thought that I would be able to bridge that gap effectively.”

Justin Brasch

After capturing 72% of the vote, Justin Brasch took office as the first Orthodox Jewish mayor of White Plains and the first new mayor since 2011. The former lawyer told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that he hoped to set an example and that he believed he earned the position as a result of his efforts to build bridges across diverse communities. “I go into all the communities, I go to Iftar and break the fast at the mosque, regularly attend the Black churches, you name it,” he said. “I’m there trying to be helpful and build bridges and make things better for people.”

The 60-year-old got his first taste of politics at 17, serving as an intern for former Congressman Ted Weiss in New York City. He was inspired by the congressman’s efforts to help people. “He and his office were in there helping people with housing insecurity and food insecurity and problems with Medicare and Medicaid, and supporting immigrants and helping immigrants get their proper paperwork, etc.,” he said.

Brasch labeled the version of Judaism he grew up with as “confusidox,” because one set of grandparents was Orthodox and the other Reform. But living with his Orthodox grandfather after his college years turned him to Orthodox Judaism. His grandfather also inspired him to enter a career in public service.

“He had a real love for people, and felt that Jews need to be helping the Jewish community and the broader community, and he was always very inspiring to me, very down to earth,” he said.

In 2003, Brasch moved with his wife Juli Smith to White Plains and belongs to Young Israel of White Plains and Hebrew Institute of White Plains. He has no regrets about moving there, where he sees a lot of tolerance, diversity, and a spirit of getting along. He has also seen the Jewish community grow steadily since his move. In 2023, the Jewish community comprised 89,000 Jewish adults and 16,000 Jewish children.

“Our community is growing,” he said. “People know that this is a great place to raise a family. We’re a very safe city and a great place. We have five synagogues…they all get along, everybody works together, and there’s a lot of harmony in our community.”

His other roles include his work as a lawyer as well as working for the planning board, school board budget advisory committee, youth bureau and a transportation task force for the government of White Plains. In addition to his work across diverse communities, Brasch aims to fight antisemitism in his role as mayor.

“I believe that we need to be more involved in the broader community to fight antisemitism,” he said. “Unfortunately, the propaganda these days is that Jews are a selfish community that only cares about themselves. And actually, when people get to know us, they see that we’re good people, we care, we want to help all communities and help the world.”