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The race to replace George Santos as the US Representative for New York’s 3rd District is underway. The Democrats have tabbed former Nassau County executive Tom Suozzi as their pick; he is a well-known commodity to Long Islanders. The GOP, however, is going with a relative newcomer to local politics. Mazi Melesa Pilip is an Ethiopian Jew by birth who served in the IDF after her family relocated to Israel in 1991. She eventually settled in Great Neck, and now serves in the Nassau legislature.
Pilip appeared on 710 WOR’s Len Berman and Michael Riedel in the Morning program to introduce herself to voters and tout her platform.
“It’s not going to be hard-won, it’s going to be easy-won,” a confident Pilip said. “The issues are with us. The people want a change. People care about taxes. People care about public safety. People care about (securing) our borders. Those are the issues, and I’m willing to be the voice for the American people, for the 3rd Congressional district, and Suozzi knows (that). So it’s going to be easy-won.”
Public service comes easily to Pilip. After her family emigrated to Israel as part of Operation Solomon, which rescued 14,000 Ethiopian Jews, Pilip served as a paratrooper in the IDF. It was an experience she clearly values to this day. “As you know, in Israel when you turn 18, you have to serve the country, and I was waiting for this opportunity to give back to the country that helped me so much and my family. I decided to join the Defense Force, the Israeli Defense Force, and I had a great opportunity, as I said, to give back and I learned a lot and it’s made me a strong person.”
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