Want a seat at this synagogue for the High Holidays? You have to register to vote first

"We believe we must put in our best effort to try to avoid a very serious danger that can affect all of us."

"Asking a congregant to register with the implications that it's for the mayoral election in a Jewish congregation implies very much a divine sanction for voting and perhaps leaning one way or the other,"

"My surmise is there is fear of [Zohran] Mamdani being elected,"

Two and a half weeks before the Jewish New Year, Congregation Shaare Zion in Brooklyn required proof of voter registration to reserve High Holidays seats. The requirement came weeks before New York City's mayoral election on November 4. The synagogue's letter warned that the election outcome could cause "very serious problems" for the Jewish community but did not name any candidate or direct voting choices. Shaare Zion is the largest Syrian synagogue in New York City and serves Sephardic and some Mizrahi Jews. Scholars called the step unprecedented and said it implies a religious sanction for voting; community leaders expressed concern about candidate Zohran Mamdani.

Read at www.npr.org