Beth Davidson, a Democratic Rockland County legislator who on Tuesday entered the race to challenge Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) in New York’s 17th Congressional District, said that her journey converting to Judaism as an adult is a key part of the path that has led her to public office.

Davidson, who is expected to face a contested Democratic primary for the nomination, is running in one of the Democrats’ strongest opportunities to pick up a GOP-held seat in 2026. Lawler, who is one of only a few House Republicans to win a district that former Vice President Kamala Harris carried in 2024, is seriously considering a run for governor.

Davidson, 52, converted to Judaism while living in New York City in her early 30s, in the aftermath of 9/11. She said that she began attending synagogue with her now-husband and that her journey in the Jewish community has gone on to drive her interest in public office.

“I made a decision that we live in a very broken world and our Jewish community was committed to tikkun olam and repairing it at the broken places,” Davidson said in an interview with Jewish Insider on Wednesday. “That really spoke to me and gave me a place to ground my own faith in myself, in my community, in social justice, in the values that I wanted to start my own family with.”

She subsequently served for three years on her synagogue board in White Plains, N.Y., and said she started multiple new family programs. Her children both attend Hebrew school and her family regularly has Shabbat dinners together.

Her time on the synagogue board responding to the 2018 Tree of Life synagogue massacre, deciding how to protect the synagogue, prompted her to initially seek public office.

“It’s one of the things that’s most important to me and that drives my public service,” she said. “It was serving on my synagogue’s board that led me to run for the school board. I’ve worked for various candidates and organizations over the years but never necessarily saw myself stepping out for office.”

Davidson said that every Jewish person “deserves to feel safe in their communities and not have to hide who they are or change who they are.” She said the increase in antisemitism since the Oct. 7 attack has been “deeply upsetting,” pledging that she would always push back and do what she can to ensure that Jews feel safe.

She served for two terms on the Nyack, N.Y., school board before running for the county legislature. 

Davidson said that antisemitism on campuses is a personal issue for her given that her daughter is currently applying to college. She said she’s also seen antisemitism in Rockland County and that her children have experienced it as well.

“I’m grateful that this has been a bipartisan issue, that members of both parties have spoken out against antisemitism,” Davidson said. “We as Jews have to live our values … I am concerned about it as a parent and I’ll do everything I can to stand up against it.”

“I’m grateful to live in a community and in a public school district that has responded to antisemitism in a strong way,” Davidson continued, highlighting the district’s Holocaust education curriculum.

Davidson said that her family was impacted personally by the Oct. 7 attack: Her daughter visited Israel with a program through her Jewish summer camp in the summer of 2023, which included visits to and stays in kibbutzim that were attacked by Hamas, including Kfar Aza.

“That was something that she had to process with her Israeli friends and her camp friends in real time,” Davidson said.

Lawler has made supporting the Jewish community and Israel a key part of his service in Congress, now serving as the chair of the Middle East subcommittee on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Davidson said that the U.S.-Israel relationship is “incredibly important” to her.

“I’m so grateful that there is a cease-fire deal and that the hostages are coming home. I don’t think we can rest until all the hostages are home and Israel’s borders are secured,” Davidson said. “So I actually agree with Congressman Lawler on that. I’m grateful for members of both parties that have come together to ensure that the hostages come home.”

Her campaign said in a position paper shared with JI that supporting Israel is a matter of personal identity for her.

“For Beth and for her family, championing the sanctity and safety of Israel is not an abstract political stance or foreign policy issue,” the paper reads. “It is deeply personal — woven into the fabric of their identity and survival as Jews. As the Middle East’s only democracy, Israel is more than a refuge for the Jewish people; it is a stabilizing force in a turbulent region and a symbol of resilience and hope.”

In the paper, Davidson expressed support for Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas, including through the war in Gaza. She backed continued U.S. support for Israeli offensive and defensive weapons systems.

She told JI that since Oct. 7, she has attended vigils in support of Israel in the district and has invested in Israel Bonds.

Davidson visited Israel in the late 2000s, and said that it was an “incredibly powerful” experience that she’s hoping to repeat at the next opportunity. She said she was “blown away” by exploring the Old City of Jerusalem and seeing “all religions and communities blending together.”

“As someone who didn’t grow up Jewish but chose Judaism, my own journey through the city mirrored my own journey through my faith, and that was really powerful to me,” Davidson said.

She told JI she’s worried that the Trump administration’s recent push to take over Gaza and expel Palestinians from the territory may jeopardize the future release of the remaining hostages. She said the issue is personal to Rockland County because deceased hostage Omer Neutra, a Long Island native, attended Jewish summer camp in the area.

She said she “wouldn’t be in favor of anything that jeopardized the remaining families being reunited with their loved ones.”

In the long term, Davidson said that she supports a two-state solution, but that the return of the hostages, the security of Israel’s borders and the removal of Hamas from any remaining position of power are preconditions for such a peace.

To counter Iran’s nuclear aspirations, Davidson supports a renegotiated nuclear deal. She called the original nuclear agreement signed by the Obama administration “well intentioned but deeply flawed” because it did not fully cut off nuclear activity by the Iranian regime. But she also criticized the Trump administration for leaving the deal “without an alternative plan.”

“We urgently need this Congress and policymakers who will put aside partisan differences and put forth a stronger, sustainable agreement with Iran addressing the shortcomings of the previous deal while prioritizing the safety of Israel and our global allies,” Davidson said.

Davidson said she’s running for Congress because she feels both Washington and Albany have failed her district. She said that housing prices and costs of everyday goods are skyrocketing, making it hard for families to afford a middle-class lifestyle.

She also touted her experience on the school board and the county legislature, working to cut taxes, fund law enforcement and pass bipartisan gun safety legislation in a divided government.

She said that Democrats’ messaging in the district fell short in the last election, failing to connect with voters on the issues they care about, such as affordability, public safety, cracking down on crime and fentanyl trafficking and repealing the state and local tax deduction cap.

Davidson’s other priorities include lowering prescription drug and health-care prices — an issue she said is personal to her as a cancer survivor — and reproductive rights.

Davidson joins Jessica Reinmann, a Westchester nonprofit executive, in the Democratic primary, and several other candidates are expected to join the field — especially if Lawler opts to run for governor, leaving the seat open. She said that her record in elected office will make her stand out among the field.

Some in local Democratic politics see her as a potentially competitive candidate, and more than 30 local officials and party leaders endorsed her on the day her campaign launched.

“Beth Davidson is well known in the Nyack area as a thoughtful and hardworking community leader who has brought energy and focus to her service on the school board and county legislature,” Elijah Reichlin-Melnick, a Jewish former New York state senator from Rockland County, who has not yet made an endorsement in the race, told JI.