Strength in numbers

New York’s Republican party hopes to empower Brooklyn’s Orthodox Jews — and itself, foes claim — by creating a new Jewish-majority district in the borough, the New York Daily News is reporting.

The redistricting proposal would likely add another Jewish member to the state senate, with the GOP hoping to “consolidate the Orthodox Jewish community into one district, rather than spread the population out over five as is now the case.”

“Legally, we’re keeping communities of interests together, which is what we’re required to do,” an unnamed source told the paper, which notes that the plan would also create an Asian-majority district based in Flushing, Queens.

Democrats have dismissed GOP redistricting plans as likely to be “abusively partisan,” the Daily News notes, and Governor Andrew Cuomo has promised to veto any proposals designed to give partisan advantage.

Whether they admit it or not, New York Republicans surely haven’t forgotten last year’s surprise victory by one of their own in New York’s heavily Jewish ninth U.S. congressional district. The outcome of the race was widely viewed as determined by the Jewish vote, which swung Republican after a campaign that focused heavily on American relations with Israel.