Republicans select Ethiopian-born, frum IDF veteran to replace George Santos

(JNS) New York Republicans selected Mazi Melesa Pilip, an Ethiopian-born, Orthodox Jew and Israel Defense Forces veteran, on Thursday to run for New York’s third Congressional District, replacing disgraced former house member George Santos.

A current local legislator, Pilip is running for the seat that Republican Rep. George Santos held before being expelled from the US House of Representatives, earlier this month following federal criminal indictments for fraud. It was also revealed that Santos had fabricated his backstory, including his supposed Jewish-Brazilian heritage.

Santos’s inventions stand in dramatic contrast with Pilip’s real-life biography. Born in Ethiopia, she emigrated to Israel as a refugee in 1991 as part of an Israeli operation to airlift Ethiopian Jews. She served in the IDF as a paratrooper before moving to the United States with her husband and becoming a US citizen. A mother of seven, Pilip was first elected to the Nassau County legislature in 2021.

Mazi Melesa Pilip serving in the IDF[Missing Credit]

The New York 3rd district special election holds national significance, given how narrowly Republicans control the House. Following the expulsion of Santos, House Speaker Mike Johnson wields an eight-seat, fractious majority.