Congregation Shaare Zion, the largest Syrian synagogue in New York City, has made an unprecedented move ahead of the upcoming High Holidays: requiring proof of voter registration from its congregants to reserve seats for the holiest days of the Jewish year. The announcement, delivered in a letter to members on September 23, 2025, has sparked a lively debate among religious scholars, community leaders, and the broader Jewish community in Brooklyn and beyond.
This bold step comes just weeks before New York City’s mayoral election, scheduled for November 4, 2025, and approximately two and a half weeks before the Jewish New Year. The timing of the letter, as reported by NPR, has led many to wonder about the motivations behind this new policy and its potential impact on both religious practice and civic engagement.
Shaare Zion’s letter did not mince words about the gravity of the moment. While it refrained from naming any political candidate or specifying a party affiliation, the message was clear: the outcome of the upcoming election could pose “very serious problems” for the Jewish community in Brooklyn. As the letter stated, “We believe we must put in our best effort to try to avoid a very serious danger that can affect all of us.” The synagogue leadership argued that, given the stakes, they had no choice but to tie seat reservations for the High Holidays to proof of voter registration.
For many in the community, this measure is a startling first. According to NPR, Congregation Shaare Zion, which began as a small congregation in the 1940s and now sits prominently on a bustling street in Gravesend, Brooklyn, has never before imposed such a requirement for High Holiday attendance. The synagogue is a central institution for Sephardic Jews in New York, a group that includes Jews with roots in the Iberian Peninsula as well as Mizrahi Jews from the Middle East and North Africa. Its influence extends well beyond its own membership, shaping the religious and cultural life of the broader community.
The letter’s wording was careful, avoiding direct endorsements or condemnations. However, the context was unmistakable. The mayoral election looms large, and concerns about the direction of city policy and the safety of Jewish institutions are at the forefront of many minds. Mark Treyger, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council and a former city councilmember representing the area that includes Shaare Zion, told NPR that the anxieties expressed in the letter are widely shared. He noted that the victory of Zohran Mamdani in the Democratic primary in June 2025 had “compounded existing concerns that were raised before this primary occurred about public safety and the future of policing and how to handle protests and how to protect shuls [synagogues] and schools.”
Scholars who study the intersection of religion and politics have been quick to note the novelty of Shaare Zion’s approach. Mark Valeri, a professor of religion and politics at Washington University in St. Louis, remarked, “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.” He added that, to his knowledge, no other house of worship in the United States has ever taken such a step.
Legally, the letter’s authors seem to have threaded a careful needle. By not naming a candidate or instructing congregants on how to vote, the synagogue avoids the most obvious legal pitfalls. As Valeri observed, “because of the letter’s careful wording — it doesn’t name a candidate or tell people how to vote — there’s no obvious legal issue with it.” Still, the move raises thorny questions about the boundaries between religious practice and civic participation.
Religious authorities have also weighed in, with some expressing discomfort over the blending of civic duties and religious observance. Rabbi David Bleich, a respected authority at Yeshiva University, told NPR, “It is terribly unusual. The question isn’t whether it’s unusual — it’s whether it’s permissible.” Rabbi Bleich pointed out that while synagogues often have membership requirements, and while he personally believes voting is important, making voter registration a precondition for attending religious services is a different matter entirely. “On what grounds would a religious organization impose all sorts of conditions that have nothing to do with religion or spirituality?” he asked. He went on to challenge the logic of the requirement: “The only way they can even work under any kind of color of religious right is by claiming that these people are in violation of a religious duty. And I respond by asking — do you require that any Jew entering be a Sabbath observer also? It’s a little bit ludicrous.”
For some, the policy is a call to action, a reminder of the importance of civic engagement, especially in times of uncertainty. For others, it blurs the line between spiritual life and political activism in a way that feels uncomfortable, if not outright inappropriate. The debate touches on deep questions about the role of religious institutions in public life, the responsibilities of citizenship, and the meaning of community in a pluralistic society.
Shaare Zion’s decision arrives at a moment of heightened anxiety for many Jewish communities in New York and across the country. Concerns about anti-Semitism, public safety, and the security of synagogues and schools have been growing in recent years. The mayoral race, with its implications for policing, protest management, and community protection, is seen by many as especially consequential. The letter’s warning about “very serious problems” if the election goes the wrong way reflects these fears, even as it stops short of making explicit endorsements or accusations.
Yet, the synagogue’s move also raises the question: where should the line be drawn between encouraging civic responsibility and imposing civic duties as a condition for religious participation? While many religious leaders urge their congregants to vote and be active citizens, few have ever made voting — or even voter registration — a prerequisite for attending services, especially on the most sacred days of the year. The High Holidays are a time when Jews around the world gather for prayer, reflection, and renewal, regardless of their political views or civic engagement. Making attendance contingent on voter registration is, as Rabbi Bleich suggested, “a little bit ludicrous.”
As the Jewish New Year approaches and the mayoral election draws near, the story of Shaare Zion’s policy is likely to continue sparking debate both within and beyond the Jewish community. Whether the requirement stands as a one-time measure or becomes a precedent for other congregations remains to be seen. What is certain is that, for now, the intersection of faith and civic duty in Brooklyn has rarely been more visible — or more contentious.
In a city where religious and civic life have long been intertwined, Congregation Shaare Zion’s new policy has put both the power and the limits of that relationship on full display.