Montana Republicans tour of Williamsbu
 מצורף קובץhttp://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/story/228118p-195899c.html
The reaction was only natural, given that it was 80 degrees in Brooklyn and that the Hasidic population of Great Falls, Mont., is exactly zero.
"Looks hot," Jack Allen deadpanned yesterday, as bearded men in black hats and long coats walked past him on Lee Ave., the main drag in Hasidic Williamsburg.
An alternate Montana delegate to the Republican convention, Allen shlepped across the Williamsburg Bridge with his wife, Jean, another couple and the Daily News for a grand tour of the city's largest Hasidic community.
"It really is like we're transported to another world," said Julie O'Hara, 48, another alternate.
An influential Satmar rabbi provided the foursome from Great Falls (pop. 56,000) with a closer look at Hasidic Williamsburg than most New Yorkers will ever have.
"We might look Amish," explained Rabbi David Niederman of the United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg. "But we're not."
Niederman and David Pollock of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York shepherded the group through South Williamsburg.
Destinations included a community group that feeds the sick, the waterfront site where Niederman's group is erecting apartments, and the former home of Grand Rebbe Joel Teitelbaum.
"He brought Europe with him," Niederman told the mesmerized Montanans. "He just planted it in New York City."
In between stops, he fielded every query, explaining why Hasidic males wear their sidelocks long, why men cannot shake hands with women and how couples with 10 or more kids fit into a city apartment.
"I'm not sure it would be possible for me to live like that," said Jean Allen, 52, a publicist at Malmstrom Air Force Base. "But I can certainly appreciate their heritage."
The jaunt to Williamsburg was a vast departure from the New York seen so far by the Montana delegates, who had not strayed far from their midtown hotel or Madison Square Garden.
They came away impressed with how the community looks after its own, through neighborhood patrols and the Hatzollah volunteer ambulance service. Hatzollah's two-minute response times beat those of the Great Falls Police Department.
"It's fascinating," said Jack Allen, 44, a Great Falls police lieutenant. "This is completely new and really inspiring."
The expedition also proved to be tasty, as Niederman treated his Montana guests to a nosh that included smoked salmon on challah.
"Now we can really say we did something different in New York," said Jesse O'Hara, 60, a former Montana state senator. "We're impressed."
Originally published on September 2, 2004
תוקן על ידי - joegreen - 02/09/2004 19:53:49
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