{"id":361160,"date":"2026-09-30T21:16:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T21:16:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/361160\/"},"modified":"2026-09-30T21:16:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T21:16:10","slug":"long-island-health-care-exec-motivated-to-run-for-state-senate-over-antisemitism-in-ny","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/361160\/","title":{"rendered":"Long Island health care exec motivated to run for state Senate over antisemitism in NY"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lisa \u201cMalkie\u201d Vider did not set out to become a politician.<\/p>\n

The Orthodox Jewish mother of three has spent about 30 years working in health care, including running an assisted-living facility and advocating for health care providers in Albany.<\/a><\/p>\n

But after years of traveling to the state capital, she became increasingly frustrated by what she saw as a disconnect between lawmakers, the health care industry and the communities they represent.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I go up to Albany, I realize that our elected officials really have no understanding of the health care system, of what I do, of what other people do in health care and the decisions that they make,\u201d Vider told JNS.<\/p>\n

That experience pushed Vider, a Democrat, to seek the state Senate seat representing the 9th District, which includes parts of Nassau County and the Five Towns. She is challenging Republican incumbent Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick <\/a>in the general election on Nov. 3.<\/p>\n

\"LisaLong Island mother and health care executive Lisa \u201cMalkie\u201d Vider is running for New York state Senate. Lisa Vider for NY State Senate<\/p>\n

The Brooklyn native, who later moved to Long Island with her husband, Avner Vider, told JNS that her three children \u2014 10, 12 and 13 \u2014 have shaped the way she views the campaign and the issues she wants to address.<\/p>\n

\u201cI fight for my children. I fight for my family,\u201d she said. \u201cI am a person that if I say that I\u2019m gonna do something, I\u2019m going to do everything in my power to try to get it done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among her main concerns are antisemitism <\/a>and what she describes as a broader problem of hate and intolerance.<\/p>\n

As an Orthodox woman, she wants Jewish New Yorkers to be able to visibly practice their faith without fear.<\/p>\n

\"Anti-IsraelAnti-Israel protesters demonstrate against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s appearance at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. Christopher Sadowski for NY Post<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just want to be able to send our kids to school or go to the park without having to worry about somebody attacking them,\u201d she told JNS.<\/p>\n

Vider told JNS that state nonprofit security funding is important and noted the additional $70 million in security funding that Gov. Kathy Hochul announced exclusively to JNS<\/a>. New York\u2019s fiscal 2027 executive budget also includes $35 million for the next round of the Securing Communities Against Hate Crimes program, she said.<\/p>\n

But more needs to be done to ensure that Jewish institutions and other houses of worship<\/a> can protect their communities, according to Vider.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople should be able to live their lives without fear of going and practicing whatever their religion and going to school,\u201d she told JNS.<\/p>\n

Vider said that her Jewish identity is intertwined with her family. Her husband is Israeli, and two of her nephews served in the Israeli military. Another nephew recently completed his service.<\/p>\n

Israel is primarily a federal rather than a state issue, but Vider told JNS that state lawmakers can still weigh in.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to show whatever support we can,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

At the same time, Vider thinks New York needs \u201cmore moderate voices\u201d in Albany.<\/p>\n

Health care is another central component of Vider\u2019s campaign, and her years of working in the industry have shown her how state regulations and funding decisions affect providers, employees, seniors and families.<\/p>\n

\u201cHealth care is very important. That\u2019s my expertise,\u201d she told JNS. \u201cWe need to bring it down. We need to make sure that our senior population is being taken care of.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vider wants to make it easier for patients and providers to navigate the health care system while reducing what she said is unnecessary pressure on health care facilities.<\/p>\n

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Her health care advocacy also exposed her to the political process. She recalled meeting with an elected official during an advocacy trip to Albany and being told the lawmaker understood the concerns she raised but lacked the authority to act.<\/p>\n

That experience made her think that the district needs a senator who can work with the majority party in Albany.<\/p>\n

Antisemitism is a major concern for Vider, but the issue she hears about most on the campaign trail is cost of living. <\/a>\u201cEverybody\u2019s just worried about affordability,\u201d she told JNS.<\/p>\n

Property taxes, utilities and gas prices have repeatedly come up as she knocks on doors, she said.<\/p>\n

Vider said many residents have lived in the district for decades and want their children to be able to return and own homes in the communities where they grew up.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, it\u2019s just not affordable,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Her campaign priorities include property-tax relief, reducing household costs and public safety.<\/p>\n

Beyond long hours and fundraising, the most difficult part of the campaign trail has been attacks portraying her as more progressive than she considers herself to be.<\/p>\n

Vider said attack ads have tried to tie her to the Democratic Socialists of America and depict her as a progressive candidate.<\/p>\n

\u201cI expected better of people,\u201d she told JNS. \u201cTo make things up and to try to diminish my reputation and have people make me out to be something that I\u2019m completely not, just because you\u2019re afraid of losing a seat,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She described herself as a \u201cmoderate, fiscally conservative Democrat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Calls from voters about the campaign mailers impressed on her how easily political messaging can shape perceptions of candidates.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s made me realize I can\u2019t just listen to what somebody else says,\u201d she said. \u201cI have to investigate and look at the individual who\u2019s running.\u201d<\/p>\n

She encouraged voters to examine each candidate\u2019s record and determine which would represent them the best.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always been a fighter,\u201d she told JNS. \u201cI am a person who will make sure that I do what I can to benefit my district and my community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re in a very different world right now, and it\u2019s scary,\u201d she added. \u201cAs a mother, I\u2019m scared every day for my children when they go somewhere, and my son\u2019s wearing his Magen David.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lisa \u201cMalkie\u201d Vider did not set out to become a politician. The Orthodox Jewish mother of three has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":361161,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[4241,3862,7702,776,57,9,11,10,49,51,50,18571,7714,855],"class_list":["post-361160","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-albany","tag-antisemitism","tag-judaism","tag-long-island","tag-metro","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-new-york-state","tag-new-york-state-headlines","tag-new-york-state-news","tag-new-york-state-senate","tag-orthodox-judaism","tag-senate"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361160","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=361160"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361160\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/361161"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=361160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=361160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=361160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}