In 1988, in response to the crisis of the Jewish community in Syria suffering the persecution of the Assad regime, the Sephardic Jewish community began an historic political campaign. They founded the then-named Sephardic Voters League.
At that time, the League’s main goal was to raise awareness and political support for the rescue of this ancient Sephardic community in Syria. Leading members of the Brooklyn community worked closely with officials in the US and Israeli governments to negotiate the release of these people from Syria. By mobilizing citizens and voters in Brooklyn, the Sephardic Voters League prompted awareness for this cause and granted it the political capital that it needed to draw the attention of powerful government officials and rescued over 3,500 Jews from Syria.
In the years since this successful campaign, the Sephardic Voters League had been dedicated to raising political participation by registering people to vote. The efforts of the League have yielded monumental success— registering tens of thousands of voters in the New York Metropolitan Area since 1988. Political participation of all sects of Jews was vastly increased due to the League’s campaigns.
Jewish political participation, however, is now more important than ever. In recent times, surges of antisemetism and anti-Jewish sentiments have arisen in communities and governments all around the country.
Understanding this necessity to have a bipartisan voting bloc to advocate for all Jews and minorities and to protect them against hate crimes, JVLA President Michael Oved absorbed the Sephardic Voters League and created the Jewish Voters League of America with a different goal and a broader audience. Inspired by the 2018 Tree of Life Synagogue shooting, Mr. Oved dedicated himself toward eradicating antisemitism, racism, and bigotry in all its forms.
Under Mr. Oved’s leadership, the JVLA’s efforts have begun to focus on national action in addition to its local action in New York. Its present mission is to modernize its voter-recruiting efforts to mobilize voters to effectuate change in American politics. He has hosted meetings with dozens and dozens of politicians and elected officials, is responsible for the some of the most comprehensive hate crime reform, and regularly meets with JVLA members to ensure they are being treated properly and fairly.
The future looks bright for the Jewish Voters League of America and its members. Under Mr. Oved’s leadership, we may be able to fully eradicate antisemitism and racism sometime even in our lifetime.
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