Councilwoman James addresses the crowd.

Yesterday, vandals burned close to a dozen mezuzahs--religious artifacts affixed to doors--in front of Jewish homes in Williamsburg, drawing widespread outrage both in the local community and among candidates for higher office. This morning, several such pols were among the officials at a press conference blasting the perpetrators.

"Today all of us are Jewish and all of us celebrate this wonderful community,"  Councilwoman Tish James, a candidate for public advocate, proclaimed. "But I've come here today to say that the individual or individuals that is responsible for this most heinous crime will be prosecuted ... You will be caught and it is in your best interest to turn yourself in. In fact, I urge you to turn yourself in before anyone in this community gets their hand on you. It's in your best interest."

Several elected official behind Ms. James, including Council Speaker Chris Quinn, visibly reacted to the "get their hands on you" reference to vigilantism, but they still took their own turns to condemn the muzuzah burning, which occurred on Holocaust Remembrance Day, as a hate crime.

"Make no mistake, that was a coordinated hate crime perpetrated on Holocaust Remembrance Day--clearly an act designed to spread fear into the hearts of New Yorkers, in particular the Jewish community," Ms. Quinn firmly stated. "So I'm out here to send a very strong message to the coward or cowards who have perpetrated this crime: your actions do not reflect the belief or feelings of New Yorkers. Our city's greatest strength is our diversity and we will not tolerate acts of hate."

Several of Ms. Quinn's rivals in this year's mayoral race also issued statements on the controversy. Public Advocate Bill de Blasio was first out of the gate yesterday, followed by former Comptroller Bill Thompson today.

“Nothing but hatred can explain why someone would burn mezuzahs on Yom Hashoah, the day we remember the six million Jews killed during the Holocaust,” Mr. de Blasio said. “This is a sickening act of prejudice that strikes at the very core of who we are as a city.”

View Ms. James' comments below, video courtesy of Shimon Gifter:

Fiddler on the $treet, the Occupy Judaism logo. (Photo: Twitter)

September 17 is the anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street protests, but it is also Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, a day when observant Jews are supposed to go to temple and refrain from a whole host of activities. Because these religious obligations might prevent Jews from participating in the protests planned for the Occupy-iversary, a group called Occupy Judaism is planning an Occupy Rosh Hashana service in Zuccotti Park on September 16. According to the Facebook invite for the event, Occupy Rosh Hashana will include, "a potluck dinner," a "nondenominational holiday service" with "Occupy Torah" and, of course, the requisite apples and honey.

"Using Jewish holidays as a way of calling for social and economic justice is in line with what the prophets envisioned, as far as what an act in the service of God is," Occupy Judaism founder Dan Sieradski explained to Politicker. "God wants you to pursue justice, not to talk about it in a book, to go out and pursue it."

Last year, Occupy Judaism hosted a Yom Kippur service that attracted hundreds of people to Zuccotti Park. Mr. Sieradski said the Occupy services are organized so that attendees do not have to violate any of the religious laws, which include prohibitions on carrying things during a holiday.

"They're not required to bring anything with them, there's no violation of a biblical precept that they will have to commit in order to participate," said Mr. Sieradski.

In spite of this, Occupy Rosh Hashana is taking place on the 16th, the eve of Rosh Hashana and the Occupy-iversary, because Mr. Sieradski thinks some highly observant Jews might not be comfortable attending services in Zuccotti on the day istelf.

"We're only doing a service on the night before the S17 day of action, Erev Rosh Hashanah, so observant Jews can participate in that as a way of participating in the day of action and then go to shul the next day," he said. "And for nonobservant Jews, they can attend the Erev Rosh Hashana service and then participate in the protest the next day.

Though he has planned Occupy Rosh Hashana to accommodate Jews who might not feel kosher protesting on September 17, based on his interpretation of religious law, Mr. Sieradski believes they shouldn't be reluctant to join the day of action.

"If they're participating in a protest, it's questionable whether they're breaking any Jewish laws," Mr. Sieradski said. "There's nothing saying that you can't march and shout."

Mitt Romney (Photo: Getty)

Mitt Romney's motorcade ran into an interesting obstacle before a fundraiser this evening in Lakewood, N.J. Lake Terrace, the venue for Mr. Romney's event, was also being used by an Orthodox Jewish wedding party and, according to a pool report filed by Yahoo's Holly Bailey, the guests at the nuptials became rather excited when Mr. Romney's motorcade arrived.

"As we turned into Lake Terrace, the motorcade drove past an Orthodox Jewish wedding party that had been posing for pictures outside. Immediately, the family abandoned the bride and groom and began chasing Romney's car in the parking lot, waving cameras," Ms. Bailey wrote.

Apparently, Mr. Romney's admirers in the wedding party were undeterred by both a fence and the candidate's Secret Service detail.

"The candidate's SUV drove around a corner to a back entrance, followed by at least 10 members of the wedding party who tried to run up to Romney's car by were halted first, by a wood fence, which one man tried to scale, and then by Secret Service agents, who did not look pleased," wrote Ms. Bailey. "'Oh you're Secret Service,' one woman said, as she was asked by an agent to move back. 'We just want to see Romney.'"

A Romney campaign spokesman told Ms. Bailey the candidate planned to pose for pictures with the wedding party. Lakewood has a growing Orthodox population. According to its website, Lake Terrace specializes in Jewish weddings and can accommodate both indoor and outdoor chuppahs.

"Joe The Plumber" with his shotgun in his web video. (Photo: YouTube)

The National Jewish Democratic Council wants an apology from Ohio congressional candidate and 2008 election supporting actor Samuel "Joe The Plumber" Wurzelbacher for his campaign video blaming the Holocaust on gun control. This evening, David A. Harris, president and CEO of the NJDC released a statement demanding Mr. Wurzelbacher apologize and remove the clip.

"Using the memories of the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust to make a political point is never appropriate, under any circumstances. For Ohio Republican House candidate Samuel Wurzelbacher to imply that these innocent lives were taken because of gun control laws is simply beyond the pale," Mr. Harris said.

Mr. Wurzelbacher's video featured footage of the candidate on a shooting range discussing his belief gun control was a contributing factor in the Armenian genocide and the Holocaust.

“In 1911, Turkey established gun control. From 1915 to 1917 one-point-five million Armenians, unable to defend themselves were exterminated,” Mr. Wurzelbacher says in the clip. “In 1939, Germany established gun control. From 1939 to 1945, six million Jews and seven million others unable to defend themselves were exterminated.”

Mr. Harris described the clip as one of several recent examples of Republicans exploiting the Holocaust including Congressman Allen West suggesting Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels would be "very proud" of Democrats for turning public opinion against the GOP, Newt Gingrich comparing liberals to Nazis and Michele Bachmann likening the debt crisis to the Holocaust.

"Wurzelbacher--who is just the latest in a long line of Republicans who seem to think it is acceptable to use the Holocaust for political gain--must apologize and remove this offensive video immediately," said Mr. Harris.

However, Mr. Wurzelbacher seems unlikely to comply with Mr. Harris' demands. This afternoon, his campaign spokesman, Phil Christofanelli, defended the video to The Politicker.

“They always use gun control before abusing the rights of people, so, yeah, that’s our position and that’s what was said in the video," Mr. Christofanelli said. "And there’s nothing offensive about it, it’s just historical fact.”

 Mr. Wurzelbacher also defended the clip in a series of Tweets this afternoon.

"Hitler wrote in Mein Kampf that his agenda would not be possible unless the people were disarmed. (Facts, Liberal hate them & ignore them)," he wrote.

Former Mayor Ed Koch and Congressman Jerrold Nadler denouncing Charles Barron in front of the Museum of Jewish Heritage.

Former Mayor Ed Koch, Congressman Jerrold Nadler, Councilman David Greenfield, Assemblyman Dov Hikind gathered with several other elected officials in front of the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Battery Park this morning for a press conference billed as an effort " to Denounce Charles Barron as Enemy of the State of Israel" and the Jewish community. The politicos who showed up at the event where longtime councilman Mr. Barron was branded "hateful," a "scary monster," "anti-Semite" and "bigot" also expressed their support for his rival in the congressional race, Hakeem Jeffries.

"What prompted me ... speaking of people that just are not familiar with Charles' record and they just dont know who Charles Barron is, that's a very scary thing. Right?" asked Councilman Greenfield, who organized the event. "People are not familiar that there's an individual who's running, who we all know very well, who is an anti-Semite, who's a hate-monger and who's a bigot. I think it's very important for us to educate the public and let them know who this individual is."

Like Mr. Greenfield, the other elected officials at the press conference said they felt it was important to make people aware of controversial statements Mr. Barron has made about Jews, in support of foreign dictators and comments critical of Israel.

"We usually have elections in this country, in this city where the differences are differences of degree, you like this one better than that one, this one is more effective, this one is a little more liberal, that one is a little more conservative. And sometimes, there's real rhetoric about this one is terrible. Usually, that's not true," Mr. Nadler said. "This time it is true. You've got a reasonable candidate and a digraceful, dangerous candidate. That is very rare and we have to make sure people understand that."

Mr. Nadler was specifically concerned by Mr. Barron's statements comparing the Israeli government's treatment of Palestinians to the holocaust. He carried a few selected quotes made by Mr. Barron on a small slip of paper.

"When he compared what the Israelis are doing in Gaza to the conditions Nazis imposed on the Jews. Where is the Auchswitz? I mean, come on. That is so irresponsible, and so libelous and so disgusting," said Mr. Nadler. "To compare Israel to Nazis, calling what Israel's doing genocide? Israel's trying to survive in a tough neighborhood....They're not doing anything like Nazis. To even put them in the same universe is a disgrace to the English language....His election to Congress, to some extent, would legitimize this kind of anti-Semitic discourse and we don't need that."

In addition to Mr. Barron's criticisms of Israel for its treatment of Palestinians, the elected officials also referenced statements he has made praising the foreign dictators Mummar Qadaffi and Robert Mugabe, and a remark he made implying blacks are the "Semitic people" rather than Jews. The participants at the press conference said they felt it was especially important to raise awareness about Mr. Barron's record because the race for the congressional seat being vacated by Ed Towns is the only contest in the upcoming June 26 election.

Mr. Koch, who described Mr. Barron's past remarks as "vicious"  explained that it was an "unusual election" that might not has "as high a turnout" as a vote with more offices on the table. The ex-mayor said he expected Mr. Barron's supporters would get to the polls, but he believed others would "rush to the polls" to vote for Mr. Jeffries if they were aware of Mr. Barron's history.

"That's why we're here. We're saying Barron is no good. I can tell you. I knew him," Mr. Koch said. "Now Hakeem Jeffries is a unique guy. He's a star....I admire him. He's a first class guy who would represent this district in a first class way."

Mr. Nadler clarified that they saw no indication Mr. Barron was likely to win, but they want to make sure he has no chance in a low interest, low turnout race.

"If you have a demagogue like Charles Barron, he's got his little group. They will come out to vote because they're his group and everybody else, very few might come out to vote. So, we're here to warn people that this is a very important election," said Mr. Nadler. "We're not here to say that we particularly see a great outswelling of support, God forbid, for Charles Barron. But he's got his group, they will vote."

All of the politicians in attendance said they would be endorsing Mr. Jeffries and would give him their support. Mr. Hikind, who said he had not spoken to Mr. Jeffries about the event, described the race as a "no brainer" for local leaders and voters.

It is worth noting here that Mr. Jeffries did not attend the event, and it is unclear how the support of a handful of Jewish pols will help him in a district that remains majority African-American and decidedly liberal.

"I really feel that Hakeem Jeffries is a superstar. He's really a solid political figure, a community leader, articulate, you name it," Mr. Hikind said. "The people need to look at the entire picture....I think if they look at everything, they will see, hey, you can get a superstar, or you can get somebody who's a racist. Make your pick, make your choice."

Gertrude Stein (Photo: Wikipedia)

Assemblyman Dov Hikind was not happy with the new Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition of Gertrude Stein's art collection. Mr. Hikind, a leader in the Orthodox Jewish community, has been harping on the Met to modify the exhibit with a note explaining it "was owned and collected by fascist/Nazi-collaborator Gertrude Stein." After teaming up with Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer to raise the issue at a meeting with museum officials this morning, Mr. Hikind said he was able to convince the Met to add a note about Stein's relationship to the Nazis.

“Visitors have the right to know that this collection exists because Gertrude Stein sold her soul; that she lived in comfort, aiding the Nazi cause while her fellow Jews were being robbed, tortured and murdered," Mr. Hikind said in a statement. “I am grateful to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for accepting the historical accountability of full disclosure. I also want to thank Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer for joining me in correcting this glaring omission.”

Harold Holzer, a spokesman for the Met, said the museum plans to add new text to the exhibit about Stein's experiences during World War II. However, he's not sure yet what exactly the new display will say.

"We don't have the language yet, I'm not sure why hes saying it's a done deal," Mr. Holzer said. "We're going to add something, and we're writing it now, that makes it clear the collection survived through the Nazi occupation of Paris and nobody is actually certain how. And that's the truth.  ... She was known to have been a friend of one of the most notorious collaborators and he almost certainly helped her."

Historians have long debated the relationship Stein, who was Jewish, had with the Nazi regime. During World War II, she lived in Paris and enjoyed the protection of  the Vichy regime that occupied France in collaboration with the Nazis. In 1943, Stein helped Vichy leader Marshal Phillipe Pétain translate thirty two of his speeches into English. In 1934, one year after Adolf Hitler took power in Germany, Stein penned a piece in the New York Times Magazine in which she suggested Hitler deserved the Nobel Peace Prize for persecuting Jews and political rivals.

"I say that Hitler ought to have the peace prize, because he is removing all the elements of contest and of struggle from Germany," she wrote. "By driving out the Jews and the democratic and left element, he is driving out everything that conduces to activity. That means peace... By suppressing Jews... he was ending struggle in Germany."

Though Stein's piece praising Hitler has gained considerable attention over the years, there are some who say the remark was meant in an ironic sense.  Mr. Hikind, however, makes no such apologies for Stein.

"It is a matter of fact that, among other things, Stein lobbied for a Nobel Peace Prize for Adolph Hitler and was only allowed to remain in France and continue collecting art because she aided the Vichy government in its collaboration with the Nazis," Mr. Hikind said in one of his many press releases about the exhibit.

The museum has said they initially included no mention of Ms. Stein's politics because the exhibit was focused on her art collection, most of which was assembled prior to World War II.

"Originally, we said, and I think it was a reasonable statement and remains a reasonable statement, that this is about the art, it's about how the art was colleccted and that happened, with the overwhelming majority of these pictures, prior to 1930," Mr. Holzer said.

Mr. Holzer said the museum decided to make a change after many people, not just Mr. Hikind, asked why the exhibit didn't explain how Stein's collection survived the Nazis, who infamously stole art collections from other Jews across Europe.

"We're not going to out her as a Nazi, everybody knows about this stuff," Mr. Holzer said. "This is not meant to be a political exhibition, but it's certainly not meant to hurt anybody."

David Storobin making his way to the stage to give his election night speech. (Photo: Hunter Walker)

The race between veteran Councilman Lew Fidler and Republican upstart David Storobin was a vicious campaign that included charges of pedophilia, Nazism and election day allegations "a Storobin thug" ran over a Fidler volunteer with a van. A police spokesperson subsequently told The New York Times the claim about the van proved to be untrue. In the end, Mr. Storobin was up by 120 votes in the final pre-paper ballot tally, but both candidates declared victory and the campaign is headed to a close count and court fight. However, as Mr. Storobin pointed out in a speech at his election night party, no one expected him to come close.

"We counted 100 percent of the votes but there are still some votes, some paper votes that are left, but based on all the info that we have, I'm proud to say that we, all of us, won this race. There may be recounts and we may have to wait for official results for a few days, or maybe even a couple of weeks, but like I said, the good won, we won," Mr. Storobin said. "Tonight, we'll go to bed as winners when nobody outside believed that we had a shot to even compete, when every story about this campaign began with Lew Fidler, the heavy favorite."

According to Craig Eaton, chairman of the Brooklyn GOP, Mr. Storobin's campaign began almost exactly a year ago. Mr. Eaton said Mr. Storobin, who emigrated from the Soviet Union as a child and eventually opened his own law practice, came to him and expressed interest in running for office four years ago. Last year, Mr. Eaton said they decided it was time for Mr. Storobin to challenge Democrat Carl Kruger, who had represented the 27th District in South Brooklyn since 1994.

"We did the dynamics of it and said a Russian lawyer in this district could work," Mr. Eaton said at the party last night.

On March 8th, 2011, Mr. Eaton brought Mr. Storobin up to Albany to introduce him to the Republican Senate Conference and the State GOP leadership. That night, they went to dinner at Angelo's 677 Prime, a steakhouse near the State Capitol, with New York Republican State Committee Chairman Ed Cox and several GOP county chairs. During the meal, the television sets lining the walls of the restaurant came alive with the news Mr. Kruger was going to be indicted on federal corruption charges that would eventually send him to prison last December.

"The news broke that night. Now, if that isn't fortuitous, that I'm up there bringing David to meet and talk about running against Carl Kruger and, at that minute, Carl Kruger gets eliminated from the race," Mr. Eaton said. "From that day, we started campaigning and David just kept going forward."

Mr. Storobin's campaign was seen as a longshot, but he had heavy support from the local and state Republican Party, which was betting a campaign focused on Mr. Fidler's liberal positions on social issues, specifically gay marriage, could be a success among the large numbers of Russians and Orthodox Jews in the district. About half and hour after the polls closed last night, the early returns looked promising for the Storobin supporters and several attendees at Mr. Storobin's party were ready to claim victory and take credit for helping their man win. One of those people was Rabbi Isaac Levi, Chairman of the Board of a group called "Jews For Morality."

Mr. Levi a slight, elderly man with a long gray beard and black fedora identifying him as an Orthodox Jews, was handing out a Xeroxed press release that said, "Orthodox Jews play a major role in Storobin's success. ... Othodox Jews, a major voting bloc in the 27th Senate District, in a special election, elected Republican/Conservative David Storobin." Mr. Levi explained to The Politicker how Mr. Fidler's support for gay rights turned off many members of the Orthodox community.

"Fidler's voting for a proposal to teach same gender marriage in our schools to six-year-old children and his support for other anti-family bills played a major role in his defeat," Mr. Levi said. "He overstepped the bounds. Mr. Fidler overstepped the bounds of what we consider almost normal living, normal family life."

Mr. Levi was accompanied by a man with a short beard and a yarmulke named Bernard Fishman. Mr. Fishman initially said he couldn't comment because it might get him into hot water at his job, but he chimed in as Mr. Levi spoke.

"The main problem is that they are looking to interject themselves into our lives. There was a time when they said, 'Keep government out of the bedroom,' well, I supported that. Now, the question is, now that they have the tools of government, they can now force themselves into our areas," Mr. Fishman said. "I mean, they now, the state can now insist that every child learn about gay marriage. Why should that be? That's the danger. Two men can walk into a synagogue or a church and say, 'We want full membership, we're homosexuals.' Now who can stop that? Now that's where the danger is."

Same-sex marriage was legalized in Albany last June, but Mr. Levi said the Orthodox community still hopes to fight the issue by voting out politicians who support gay marriage and forcing a referendum.

"The truth is, the representatives in Albany let us down, they let us down. They were bought off on this issue by a very strong lobby," Mr. Levi said. "We're going to take corrective action, we're going to go out against all these State Assemblymen in our area of Brooklyn that voted for gay marriage. They're going to face primaries or elections and they're going to rue the day that they ever voted for gay marriage."

Mr. Storobin's party took place at an "Asian bistro" in Sheepshead Bay called O.P.M., short for "opium." Guests mingled under neon pink lights and ornate chandeliers while sampling from a buffet of Chinese food. Joseph Hayon, a former Assembly candidate and strong supporter of Mr. Storobin complimented the cuisine.

"This is 100 percent kosher food," Mr. Hayon said. "Tell me the last time a non-religious candidate had 100 percent Kosher food at a victory rally."

Both Mr. Fidler and Mr. Storobin are Jewish, though not Orthodox. Their religion came up at several points during the campaign. In January, Mr. Fidler accused Mr. Storobin of having "ties to skinheads, and neo-Nazi groups and white supremacist groups" because the Republican wrote a blog that was linked to by extremist groups. Last week, an ad ran in two local Jewish publications questioning Mr. Fidler's religious convictions because of a 2008 interview he gave to this publication in which he described himself as a "bacon and eggs kind of Jew." A special advertising supplement in the most recent issue of the Flatbush Jewish Journal noted Mr. Fidler's support for teaching children about gay marriage and described voting for him as a violation of religious law.

At Mr. Storobin's party, the crowd was still sparse about an hour after polls closed. We spotted several members of the Kings County G.O.P. and Brooklyn Young Republicans, a pair of staffers from the office of Republican Congressman and Senate candidate Bob Turner and Republican Councilman Dan Halloran.

"Lew Fidler, I love him to death, we have a great time in Council together, working together, but I think we need to start sending messages," Mr. Halloran said.

According to Mr. Halloran the key message that needs to be sent is that government should not get involved with religion with legislation like the same-sex marriage law, President Obama's contraception coverage rule and New York City's ban on churches using public school space.

"Respect for God is part of the American tradition, however you choose to see God," Mr. Halloran said. "I think a lot of pople feel that we've moved so far towards a secular state that we've forgotten that this is one nation founded under God."

With about 85 percent of the vote counted, Mr. Storobin had a slight lead. Jacob Kornbluh, a self-described "political junkie" and writer for Jewish Voice NY, said he didn't think Mr. Fidler would concede unless he was winning by more than 300 votes. Regardless of the outcome, Mr. Kornbluh said the night was a success for Mr. Storobin and the Kings County GOP.

"I'm happy because it shows that the Brooklyn Republicans are alive and kicking," Mr. Kornbluh said. "This shouldn't have even been close."

Mr. Kornbluh was right about Mr. Fidler being unwilling to concede. In fact, a little before 11:20 p.m., Mr. Fidler gave a victory speech at his election night party.

"Even if it doesn't always happen that way, this time, today, tonight, the good guys win," Mr. Fidler said.

When word of Mr. Fidler's speech reached the crowd at the Storobin party, Gene Berardelli, vice chairman of the Kings County Republicans' Law Committee turned to Russ Gallo, president of the Brooklyn Young Republicans and laughed.

"I guess the Brooklyn GOP are the good guys now," Mr. Berardelli said.

State Senator Marty Golden warming up the crowd for David Storobin. (Photo: Getty)

The final count coming in from the Board of Elections showed Mr. Storobin was up by 120 with 100 percent of the vote reported. It would be coming down to about 800 absentee and affidavit ballots, which are scheduled to start being counted March 27. That technicality didn't stop Mr. Storobin from stepping onto the raised dancefloor and giving a victory speech of his own shortly after Mr. Fidler. Mr. Storobin was introduced by State Senator Marty Golden, who listed gains Republicans have made in New York City in recent years.

"Remember? There was Senator Marty Golden, then we had Nicole Malliotakis, our Assemblywoman, and then we had a guy named Congressman Bob Turner. Right? Right? Right? And we have another guy, what's that guy? Congressman Michael Grimm," Mr. Golden said. "They said it couldn't happen right? And now, we've got New York State Senator David Storobin, yes, yes."

As crowds chanted his name, Mr. Storobin, who noted "it's been 18 hours since I woke up" touted his underdog status.

"It's been a long night and an even longer campaign, we started this campaign with nobody giving us a chance," Mr. Storobin said.

Mr. Storobin also referenced the attacks and allegations that flew back and forth during the race.

"Early in the race, my opponent ... called me a Jewish Nazi," Mr. Storobin said. "They called me a lot of names. Today, they claimed that we were running over their volunteers with our cars. No joke, multiple volunters. Now, nobody knows their names, where it happened, multiple of their volunteers apparently were run over by our cars. I mean maybe that's why they're going to claim that they lost, because their volunteers, their voters got run over by cars."

"I got two of them," Mr. Gallo shouted from the crowd.

"I knew it was Russell, I knew it," Mr. Storobin laughed.

Mr. Storobin said, unlike his opponent, he ran a "good campaign."

"We discussed real issues and our opponents decided to engage in character assasiation. And guess what? The good side won," Mr. Storobin said. "I will be going to Albany, and I will represent all of you and I will fight for you."

A heavyset Russian man shouted at Mr. Storobin from the audience.

"David, think about your mother," he said. "Tomorrow, she will wake up as a mother of United States Senator!"

Mr. Storobin corrected him.

"State senator, New York State Senator."

"Give it some time!" another audience member shouted.

Mr. Storobin's mother, Anna Storobin, was by his side on stage. Ms. Storobin made the maximum donation of $10,000 to her son's campaign, a fact which was derisively noted by the Fidler campaign during the race. At his party, Mr. Storobin thanked his mother for her support.

"I was interviewed by someone ... they were asking me about my campaign and how it's going, and then they said, 'Don't you feel that you will owe to your biggest fundraiser?'" Mr. Storobin said. "Let me point out, my biggest fundraiser and my biggest volunteer was my mom. So, yes, I will owe to my biggest fundraiser and my biggest volunteer. ... Our opponents really have no shame, they've attacked my mom repeatedly and that's one thing I've really taken offense to."

David Storobin celebrates with his supporters. (Photo: Hunter Walker)

After taking a congratulatory phone call from Republican Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos on stage, Mr. Storobin descended into the crowd where he made a beeline for Brooklyn Conservative Party Chairman Jerry Kassar, who worked on his campaign. Mr. Storobin asked Mr. Kassar how the situation with the paper ballots was shaping up. Mr. Kassar was optimistic.

"We worked them. Remember in the beginning when I was screaming and yelling about sending that stuff out? I was always thinking you'd be close, we were always on it," Mr. Kassar said.

Mr. Storobin's campaign is taking the ballot count to court. This morning, his lawyers filed a motion to have any questions about recanvassing decided before a judge rather than allowing the Board of Elections to make a final determination that cannot be appealed. We asked Mr. Storobin what he expected to happen on the morning after his party.

"It's going to be fun, you know, we're going to finally make it official, hopefully in the next couple of days," Mr. Storobin said. "We are very confident that we are going to win."

Mr. Storobin was among the last people to leave his party. As mist rolled in off the bay, he stood outside the restaurant with a small group of supporters. Mr. Storobin reacted with disbelief when one of his backers informed him Mr. Fidler had also made a victory speech.

"He announced he won?" Mr. Storobin asked incredulously.

"He announced he won because, he said he has five-to-one handwritten ballots on us," the man said.

"That crackhead," another Storobin supporter said.

"I think he is on crack," Mr. Storobin laughed.

The controversial Hanukkah card from "S.C. Team Santorum." (Photo: Facebook)

WASHINGTON -- Rick Santorum's campaign manager, Michael Biundo, responded to the growing controversy over a Hanukkah card signed by "S.C. Team Santorum" inscribed with a New Testament bible verse that implies non-Christians will "walk in darkness."

"It certainly wasn't an authorized graphic that they sent out. I'm not even sure who did it, you know, the South Carolina office is not even--you know, not together at this point," Mr. Biundo told The Politicker at the Conservative Political Action Conference today.

Mr. Santorum's Hanukkah hassle started Wednesday after this reporter found an image of the controversial card online and Tweeted a picture of it. The card featured a verse from the Gospel of John where Jesus says, "He who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life."

Several media outlets subsequently picked up on the story and attributed the card directly to Mr. Santorum.

"Rick didn't say it and I'm not sure who did say it," Mr. Biundo said "I'm not even sure it actually did come from the campaign, to be honest with you."

The card was posted on Facebook last December 21 by a man named Joe St. John, who ran Mr. Santorum's campaign office in Rock Hill, South Carolina and has been described by news outlets as both a Santorum "campaign staffer" and "a district field representative with Santorum's campaign." Mr. Biundo said there were "four or five people" working on Mr. Santorum's South Carolina team in December.

Dov Hikind (Photo: NYS Assembly)

Many local politicians were unhappy with the proposed legislative lines released yesterday by Albany's redistricting task force, but Assemblyman Dov Hikind said the plans for the "Super Jewish" Senate District 17 are "absolutely wonderful."

"If all this ends up being the case and this district stands I think it will be absolutely wonderful," Mr. Hikind told The Politicker.

Along with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Mr. Hikind is one of New York's most prominent Orthodox political leaders. The proposed Senate District 17 has been described as "Super Jewish" because it consolidates much of the Orthodox community in the Midwood neighborhood of Brooklyn.

"I've always felt and have said it publicly, that communities should be left intact," Mr. Hikind said. "Communities that share philosophical goals and ideals should stay together. I think it's absolutely great and I can tell you that people in these communities would be very, very happy to have this happen."

Mr. Hikind's enthusiasm for the District 17 proposal was shared by Orthodox advocacy group Agudath Israel.

"The district reflects the orthodox community's interests. The lines reflect where the orthodox community lives and we believe that this is a very positive move in order to make sure that our voices are heard and that our issues are dealt with effectively," Shmuel Lefkowitz, Agudath's top lobbyist in Albany, told The Politicker.

In general, Mr. Hikind said he thinks the redistricting process proposed positive changes.

"Even my own new district looks more normal than the old one, in the sense that it's more compact," he said. "The one I have right now, if you look at it you'll say how did they do that? How do they manage the three different pieces?"

The new proposals for Mr. Hikind's seat in the 48th Assembly District are quite similar to the plans for Senate District 17.

Governor Andrew Cuomo has repeatedly vowed to veto any district lines drawn by the Legislature rather than through an independent process. Shortly after the new lines were released, the governor's office described the redistricting proposals as "simply unacceptable" and said they "would be vetoed by the governor."

In spite of the Governor's opposition, Mr. Hikind is confident the proposed boundaries for Assembly districts will stand, though the Senate lines may face challenges.

"I think the Assembly lines will end up pretty much staying the way they are now," Mr. Hikind said. "There might be a challenge to the whole thing, but I think the speaker and those who worked on it did a very good job being responsive to the needs of minorities, for example the two Asian districts."

In light of this, we asked Mr. Hikind his prediction for the fate of the "Super Jewish" Senate district.

"We'll see what happens as this unfolds, in terms of the overall, what the governor's going to do," he said. "But I think the idea of this kind of district just makes sense. Of course, the goal now is to get someone effective to represent the district."

With that being said, we asked Mr. Hikind if he'd consider moving to the Senate to represent District 17 if it survives the coming redistricting fight. Mr. Hikind said he has no desire to leave the Assembly.

"Let me tell you, I'm into my thirtieth year. I'm going to run for re-election. I love what I do, we're working harder than ever doing more than ever," Mr. Hikind said. "I get on TV almost every week these days, but the part I do that most people don't see is the real hands on work in the community. I set my agenda. I get involved in all kinds of things. I don't have to get in the State Senate to do things."

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