Steve Fulop: Sadaf Jaffer Merits Censure - Not Silence
I first became aware of Sadaf Jaffer during the 2018 Congressional campaign. I was actively advocating on behalf of the election of a Democratic House and Senate, both in social media and in my columns. Sadaf was a major supporter of mine, and we became friends.
Sadaf is a brilliant, dignified South Asian Muslim woman, and I am an observant Jew and passionate Zionist. I especially valued our relationship for that reason. In my political life, I have always welcomed the opportunity to build bridges to individuals of different ideologies, ethnic origins, and economic classes.
So it was at first with Sadaf Jaffer and me. I was delighted by her selection by the Montgomery Township Committee as mayor in January 2019 and her election to the New Jersey State Assembly in 2021. I attended her swearing-in ceremony as mayor and was honored to be one of her invited guests.
While I never spoke with her at any length during her office service, I closely followed her career. My impression was that she was compiling an impressive record as an advocate for progressive causes for those most in need.
When she announced she would not seek reelection, I was saddened that the legislature would lose a brilliant and accomplished woman of color who made a solid contribution to the lawmaking process. However, I was happy to learn that she would not be leaving the political arena altogether.
On September 18, 2023, the outgoing assemblywoman and Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop made a joint announcement: Jaffer would endorse Fulop for governor and appoint her to his campaign policy team. In baseball jargon, this was a good trade for both teams. It was legitimate for Fulop to reach out for support in the Muslim community. His campaign would benefit from Jaffer's expertise on legislation proposed by the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.
Then came October 7, 2023. A date that will live in Jewish infamy. It was a day that President Biden described as the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust- children, babies, and entire families slaughtered.
Hamas is a genocidal organization dedicated to the destruction of the State of Israel and the mass murder of its Jewish inhabitants. There is no question of the responsibility of Hamas for this war and its bloodthirsty and genocidal purpose.
Sadaf Jaffer’s response to the events of October 7 was, in a word, deplorable. She accused President Biden of not valuing Muslim and Arab lives as much as other lives. And she propounded a false message of moral equivalence, refusing to acknowledge Hamas's responsibility for starting this terrible war. While she spoke constantly of the deaths of Arab children, I never saw her make any public statement specifically condemning the physical abuse and cruelty towards the murdered Jewish children and those still held hostage in underground Hamas tunnels.
Yet far worse was to come. In January, the United Jewish Federation of MetroWest sponsored a three-day trip to Israel for New Jersey Assembly members, community leaders, and educators to learn about the impact of the Hamas war of destruction. Jaffer despicably called for the trip's cancellation.
Her call to cancel the trip was a direct negation of the intent and purpose of the sister-state agreement between Israel and the State of New Jersey, entered into by the administration of Governor Tom Kean in 1988 and strongly supported by governors of both parties since then. The agreement called for cooperation between the peoples of both states. This trip was privately sponsored and an affirmation of the relationship between the states and the people of both communities.
The sister-state agreement is a sacred covenant, whose spirit Jaffer sought to implicitly violate by calling for the cancellation of the trip at a time when daily life in Israel is imperiled more than at any time during the past fifty years. She deserves public nonviolent censure for this outrage. By trying to keep the truth from coming out of Israel via this trip, Jaffer becomes an enabler of Hamas.
What's worth noting is that when Fulop was baselessly attacked by the NRA, the Jewish Federation of MetroWest jumped to his defense by stating:
"Invoking the Holocaust and bringing Hitler into this argument is historically inaccurate and offensive to Holocaust survivors and the Jewish community," the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ said in a statement. "Access to guns and the systematic murder of six million Jews have no basis for comparison in the United States or in New Jersey. The Holocaust has no place in this discussion, and it is offensive to link this tragedy to such a debate."
Now, Steve Fulop must make a decision. He has devoted a lifetime of support for Israel and the cause of Holocaust survivors. Indeed, these have been his core principles.
Yet for every day he remains silent on Jaffer’s anti-Israel actions, he condones them. Steve Fulop must prioritize principle over concern for his campaign prospects, remove Jaffer from his policy committee, and publicly repudiate her actions.
Alan J. Steinberg of Highland Park served as regional administrator of Region 2 EPA during the administration of former President George W. Bush and as executive director of the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission.