Mazi Melesa Pilip
Member of the Nassau County Legislature
from the 10th district
Assumed office
January 1, 2022
Preceded byEllen Birnbaum
Personal details
Born1978 or 1979 (age 44–45)
Ethiopia
CitizenshipUnited States • Israel
Political partyDemocrat[A]
Children7
EducationUniversity of Haifa (BA)
Tel Aviv University (MA)
WebsiteCounty website

Mazi Melesa Pilip (born 1978 or 1979)[1] is an Ethiopian-born Israeli-American politician serving in New York's Nassau County Legislature representing Nassau County, Long Island's 10th district as a Republican. She is an Ethiopian Jew who was born in a poor village in Ethiopia, immigrated to Israel when she was 12 years old, and later served in the Israel Defense Force's Paratroopers Brigade. She studied at the University of Haifa, where she earned a bachelor's degree in occupational therapy, and also studied at Tel Aviv University, where she earned a masters degree in diplomacy and security. In 2021 and again in 2023, Pilip was elected to the Nassau County Legislature. She has also been a registered Democrat since 2012 but ran for the Nassau County Legislature on the Republican ballot line.[2] She is the Republican nominee for the 3rd congressional district special election in February 2024.[3]

Early and personal life[edit]

Pilip was born in a small poor village in Ethiopia, grew up without running water in her home, and is an Ethiopian Jew.[4][5][6] She immigrated to Israel in 1991 as a refugee when she was 12 years old, along with her family, as part of Operation Solomon.[7][6] The operation was an Israeli military operation that covertly airlifted over 14,000 Ethiopian Jews to Israel in a day and a half.[6][5] She has three sisters, all of whom live in Israel.[8]

Upon turning 18 years of age, she served in the Israel Defense Force's Paratroopers Brigade (Tzanchanim).[4][6] After her service in the army, Pilip studied at the University of Haifa, where she was Chairwoman of the Ethiopian Student Union for two years, and earned a bachelor's degree in occupational therapy; she also studied at Tel Aviv University, earning a masters degree in diplomacy and security.[4][8][5][7] While at the University of Haifa she met her future husband, Adalbert Pilip, an American-Ukrainian-Jewish medical student who had come from the United States to Haifa to study medicine at the Technion.[5][6][7]

After she and her husband married they moved to the United States, ultimately settling in Great Neck, New York, and her husband is now a cardiologist.[6][5] She is an Orthodox Jew, has been vice president of her synagogue (Kol Yisrael Achim), and has been active in trying to revitalize Great Neck and in speaking about Israel for Jewish groups.[7] She and her husband have seven children.[7]

Political career[edit]

In November 2021, at 43 years of age, Pilip was elected to New York's Nassau County Legislature as a Republican legislator for Nassau County, Long Island's 10th district, defeating four-term incumbent Ellen Birnbaum by seven percentage points.[1][5][6][9] The district covers Manhasset, Manhasset Hills, North Hills, Searingtown, Herricks, and the nine villages on the Great Neck peninsula.[10] She gave birth to twin daughters weeks before the election.[7]

Pilip campaigned on reviving Great Neck’s downtown, and acting as a bridge among the many minority communities in the district.[7][10][11] She became the first-ever Republican from Great Neck to be elected a Nassau County Legislator.[12] Her priorities have also included public safety, helping businesses that struggled during the COVID-19 pandemic, and fighting antisemitism.[13][5][7] She is Chairwoman of the Nassau County Legislature Towns, Villages & Cities Committee, and Vice Chairwoman of its Health & Social Services Committee.[14]

As of January 2023, Pilip was being considered for a position that might become vacant in the United States Congress.[6] George Santos had been elected in 2022 to represent New York's 3rd congressional district in the 118th United States Congress.[6] However, subsequently it was revealed that Santos had lied about his education, his career, his charitable work, being of Jewish descent, and having grandparents who survived the Holocaust.[6] A number of politicians have called for his removal, and Nassau County Republican Party officials called for him to resign.[6] In January 2023, Pilip was under consideration for his position should it become vacant, and Politico reporter Olivia Beavers wrote that Pilip was one of two Republicans whom the Nassau County Republican Party was considering running if Santos were to resign.[6][7]

In November 2023, she won a second term as Nassau County legislator representing District 10 as a Republican (endorsed by the Conservative Party), defeating Democratic challenger Weihua Yan by a margin of 60% to 40%.[15][16] She dedicated her win to Israel.[16]

On December 14, 2023, a panel of Republicans from Queens and Nassau Counties selected Pilip as the Republican nominee in the special election for the 3rd congressional district to succeed Santos after his expulsion.[3]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Registered Democrat since 2012, but elected to Nassau County Legislature as a Republican.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Ferrette, Candice (November 3, 2021). "GOP maintains control, gains a seat on the Nassau legislature". Newsday.
  2. ^ Beeferman, Jason; Coltin, Jeff; Reisman, Nick; Ngo, Emily (December 6, 2023). "A problem with a possible Santos successor". POLITICO. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Fandos, Nicholas (December 14, 2023). "Republicans Tap Israeli Military Veteran to Run for Santos's Seat". The New York Times.
  4. ^ a b c Kylie Ora Lobell (January 29, 2023). "From an Ethiopian Village to the NY Legislature". aish.com.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Kornbluh, Jacob (November 29, 2021). "This one-time refugee and former Israeli paratrooper just won a seat in her county legislature". The Forward.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Margulies, Joanie (January 22, 2023). "Will George Santos be replaced by an Ethiopian-Jewish legislator?". The Jerusalem Post.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Kampeas, Ron (January 19, 2023). "Meet the real Jewish Republican of color being floated to replace George Santos, the fake one". JTA.
  8. ^ a b Schwamm, Susan (January 6, 2022). "From Ethiopia to the IDF to the Nassau County Legislature; TJH Speaks with Leg. Mazi Melesa Pilip". Five Towns Jewish Home.
  9. ^ Bolger, Timothy (December 6, 2021). "Red Wave Brings Political Sea Change on Long Island". Long Island Press.
  10. ^ a b Pelaez, Robert (November 23, 2021). "Mazi Pilip says she wants to help revitalize downtowns, combat hate in 10th Legislative District". The Island Now.
  11. ^ "Legislator Pilip's Advocacy Helped Save Express Trains in Great Neck". Great Neck Record. October 12, 2022.
  12. ^ O’Neill, Chris (November 8, 2021). "Republicans Sweep in Historic Election Wins". The North Shore Leader.
  13. ^ "Nassau County Legislator Pilip Honors Detectives Who Busted Catalytic Converter Ring". Great Neck Record. January 11, 2023.
  14. ^ "District 10 - Mazi Melesa Pilip | Nassau County, NY - Official Website". Nassau County New York.
  15. ^ Oakes, Cameryn (October 31, 2023). "Legislator Pilip advocates for continued collaboration with constituents in re-election bid - Featured".
  16. ^ a b Kovac, Brandon Duffy, Cameryn Oakes, Karina (November 8, 2023). "Nassau Republicans maintain 12-7 control of the county Legislature - Featured".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

External links[edit]