22 | JULY 16 • 2020 

Jews in the D

G

abi Grossbard, a former car 
salesman and Orthodox Jew, is 
running for Congress in the 9th 
District in the Aug. 4 Republican pri-
mary for the chance to face Rep. Andy 
Levin this fall. The 9th District includes 
Huntington Woods, Bloomfield Township 
and Franklin, along with 19 other cities in 
Oakland and Macomb counties. 
Grossbard was born in Israel and 
moved to Michigan in 1998. He and his 
wife live just outside the 9th District 
in Southfield and have six children. 
His Republican opponent, Charles 
Langworthy, is a U.S. Navy veteran and 
fervent backer of President Trump. 
If he wins, Grossbard would face off 
against another Jew this fall, Democratic 
incumbent Andy Levin. 
Read about why Grossbard has entered 
the race and what he hopes to accomplish 
if elected. 

JN: Why are you running for Congress? 
Grossbard: We’
re at a point right now 
where we have two political parties that 
are odds with each other. They both seem 
to be running in separate directions. And 
the average voter is stranded in the middle 
without representation … So, though it 
goes against my nature and against my 
personality to jump into public life, I 
think it’
s important to do. 

In November, you started running in the 
14th District and then you withdrew from 
that race. Now you’
re running in the 9th. 
What happened there? 
I was running in the 14th because I do 
live in the 14th. I live right outside the 
9th. The way the district runs, I’
m less 
than a mile outside the district border. I 
decided to switch because I saw that Andy 
Levin was running unopposed at the time 
and I just couldn’
t let that happen. He 

never represented us well. 

You were born in Israel, and you served 
in the IDF. Why is it important to you to 
be that advocate for Israel in the federal 
government? 
Israel, being the only democracy in the 
Middle East, from a purely American 
point, is important to uphold and 
strengthen. Israel’
s existence directly and 
indirectly brings a lot of safety and securi-
ty here to the United States. 

You also don’
t want to be seen as the 
one-issue, pro-Israel candidate, and rep-
resenting working class people is some-
thing that you’
re also really passionate 
about. Why is that? 
Another reason I switched from the 14th 
to the 9th is I resonate much better with 
the 9th District people. There’
s a big 
chunk of this district that’
s in Macomb 
County — these are blue-collar, hard-
working people. And that’
s me. I identify 
with that. 

If elected, you’
d be the first Orthodox 
Jewish congressperson in the House of 
Representatives. What does that distinc-
tion mean to you? 
Having a Jewish person who wears a kip-
pah on the Congress floor, along with spe-
cifically my background, born and raised 
in Israel and serving in the IDF, I think 
could be a big plus. 

You consider yourself a “moderate conser-
vative.” What does that mean to you? 
I’
m not a radical right-wing lunatic nut 
who served in the Israeli army and is 
looking for that type of trouble. I really 
think that I’
m in the middle. 

Does that mean you’
d vote against the 
rest of the Republican party in Congress 

if you think their idea went against the 
interests of the people in your district? 
It depends on the issue, but that is not 
something I would say no to right now … 
But that’
s as far as the votes. I will never 
vocally criticize the leader of my party 
or any of the other members, just like I 
wouldn’
t anyone on the other side. I’
m a 
policy guy. 

This summer, there’
ve been protests call-
ing for an end to police brutality and sys-
temic racism. How are you responding to 
these protests, and how would you advo-
cate for people of color, especially Black 
people, in Congress? 
I definitely agree with the statement that 
Black lives matter. I don’
t subscribe to the 
movement, the BLM movement. 
Within the 9th District, from what I’
ve 
seen, this is not an issue. I see a lot of peo-
ple getting along and I see this in general 
America … I don’
t think to the average 
American, in my district, at least, this is a 
big issue, reason to protest. 

This area has been represented by a 
Democrat for decades now. What makes 
you think that a moderate conservative 
Republican candidate can win this time? 
I really hope that the independents and 
the moderates, along with the many 
Republicans in this district, can evaluate 
me based on the candidate that I am, and 
not just based on the fact I’
m running on 
the Republican side of the ticket. And I do 
think that there is an opportunity here. 

An Orthodox 
Jew in 
Congress? 

Gabi Grossbard is running
in the Republican primary 
to face off against
Andy Levin.

MAYA GOLDMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

COURTESY OF GABI GROSSBARD

Gabi
Grossbard

