Political operative Michael R. Caputo recounts in Politico how he saved a candidate from being scammed by Sacha Baron Cohen. Caputo had his suspicions and, “In the end, I ran the pitch by Yossi Gestetner, one of the smartest public relations guys in New York City. (He had created a pivotal 2016 Trump Tower meeting for President Donald Trump with Jewish media leaders right before the New York State Republican primary.) He knew everybody and he certainly could help vet this invitation. Gestetner made a few calls, checked it out and reported back that he couldn’t tell us much either way. He was skeptical that there wasn’t information out there about Yerushalayim TV in Israel, either. That tore it; we took a pass. Later, Gestetner tipped me off that Yerushalayim TV was one of many fronts for Sacha Baron Cohen’s production company.”
Yossi Gestetner Calls for Justice and Sentencing Reform
The Journal News reports on the release of Sholom Rubashkin from prison as a result of the first commutation given by Trump as president: “‘This was the right step,’ said the co-founder of the Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council Yossi Gestetner, who started a Twitter hashtag #IAJew in 2010 in support of Rubashkin. “The punishment did not fit the crime.’ He added that he hoped the White House and lawmakers from both parties will pass reforms in criminal justice, sentencing and prison treatment.”
Yossi Gestetner Speaks About the Eruv in NJ
News 12 Hudson Valley July 30. 2017: Yossi Gestetner says the eruv was vandalized in six places in Mahwah earlier last week, 28 places in Upper Saddle River Wednesday night into Thursday morning and in one place in Pomona. “I think there is rise of misunderstanding of the Orthodox Jewish community, there is a lot of innuendo-, lies-based angst among people outside the community,” says Gestetner. Gestetner says the eruv has been ordered to be taken down in both New Jersey municipalities by Aug. 4. City leaders say it violates local rules.
Yossi Gestetner Speaks to Media About a Pit Bull Attack
Thursday April 20, 2017, a pit bull attacked a toddler in Spring Valley, NY. Yossi Gestetner held a news conference about it the next day which was attended by Fios1, NBC4, ABC7, News12, Telemundo47, The Journal News and VIN News. Yossi also spoke to PIX11:
Gestetner Speaks to AP About the First Hasidic Woman Elected to Office in the US
Via the AP: Her election is “a step for the ultra-Orthodox community at large,” showing it’s open to women making progress on the political ladder, said Yossi Gestetner, a longtime Hasidic political activist and public relations consultant who co-managed Freier’s campaign.
Gestetner Speaks to the JTA About the First Hasidic Woman Elected to Office in the US
Via the JTA: For help in her uphill battle, [Rachel] Freier reached out to Yossi Gestetner and Gary Tilzer to manage her campaign… “We had a dozen rabbinical voices who publicly backed the candidacy in addition to women rabbinical leaders who also backed the candidacy,” Gestetner said. “Multiple Yiddish-language publications actually interviewed the candidate and were very fair to her. The vote in Borough Park was split in half. Such a vote outcome is a huge success for a first-time, non-establishment, woman candidate. So not only was there no backlash, there were thumbs-up all around.”
Yossi Gestetner Profiled by Mishpacha Magazine
Mishpacha Magazine, one of the leading weekly magazines in the Jewish community, profiled Yossi Gestetner: “There is a definite edge to Yossi Gestetner, the way he speaks, even the way he walks. If you’re one of his listeners on the Yiddish-language Kol Mevaser hotline, you hear it in his news analysis. If you read his pieces in the wider Orthodox press, you’ll see it in his punditry. And if you’re following political developments in New York’s religious neighborhoods, then you saw his effect just last week: he successfully managed Ruchie Freier’s victorious campaign for civil court judge and assisted Aron Wieder’s successful Democratic primary bid for New York State assembly.” (See the full article here)