An open letter to Jack Ciattarelli

Dear Mr. Ciattarelli:

My name is Clifford Kulwin. I am a 35-year resident of New Jersey and rabbi emeritus of one of the state’s most prominent and historic synagogues.

News of Ibrar Nadeem’s incendiary comments at the recent Muslims for Jack campaign event shocked me. You describe Nadeem as a member of your “inner circle of advisers” and call yourself the “first gubernatorial candidate in history” to have such an adviser.

As you of course recall, Nadeem said, “People from my community, when I was blamed that somebody said, ‘You are taking money from Jews.’ I said, ‘I check my bank account every day, brother, it is not there.”

That floored me, but I know context is important, so I found a video of the entire event. I watched it twice.

Here’s my take. Members of his community accuse Nadeem of taking money from Jews, which they consider disloyal, even traitorous. Nadeem must reassure them that is not so and thus makes the statement above.

Nadeem’s words, and the tone in which they were uttered, tell a story; members of his community, and him, hold Jews in contempt. It’s not just any group whom he’s accused of taking money from…it’s Jews! I’ve watched that section of the video several times; it’s impossible to understand it any other way.

But he’s not the one running for governor, Mr. Ciattarelli. You are, and you not only call Nadeem part of your inner circle, but your own laudatory remarks on the video make it clear you hold him in high esteem.

Campaigns are complicated, especially when one is put on the spot. I get that, and I don’t blame you for not having immediately found the right words that evening.

Afterward, however, you had ample opportunity to put out a statement lamenting Nadeem’s sentiment. You chose not to and even doubled down on the grotesquery by defending him as one standing up for you because you were standing up for Jews.

Were you not bothered that Nadeem felt the need to say those words in the first place? Were you not bothered that so many in the association he leads have such hostile attitudes toward Jews that he had to address it? And does so with words and in a tone that makes it clear he understands and sympathizes with their concerns? “Hey, I get it folks, you just got it wrong on where the checks come from.”

Jews and money, an old, disgusting, dangerous trope, and your campaign event fed fuel to the fire. Antisemitism was alive and well in Piscataway that evening.

I will be candid. I was not planning to vote for you anyway because I disagree with many of your positions. Our political orientations diverge. Nothing personal there, and I respected you despite those disagreements.

Today, however, I respect you less. And I suspect I am not alone.

Yours truly,

Rabbi Clifford M. Kulwin

Clifford Kulwin lives in Montclair and is rabbi emeritus of Temple B’nai Abraham in Livingston.