Congressional hopeful in Israel: I want to see what life here is like

By YAAKOV KATZ
Jack M. Martins, mayor of the town of Mineola in New York who is running for Congress in the 4th District, paid a visit to Israel this week ahead of the November elections. Martins, 41 and the father of 4, said that he decided to visit Israel due to the large Jewish population among the 600,000 people in his district. "I came see what life is like in Israel," he said Monday following a visit to Sderot where he met with Maroy Eli Moyal "There are tremendous ties between the people of the district and Israel and it is important to see how those ties developed and what they mean when they talk about Israel's security." Martins, a Catholic, is running against incumbent Democrat Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy. He will visit Jerusalem on Tuesday and the Golan Heights later in the week. "What is most striking is the proximity of the borders and how close everything is," he said.