The Jewish Vote in Clifton Is More Vital Than Ever
In the current political climate, our community’s voice is needed now more than ever.
We have an opportunity on Tuesday, November 7 to unseat members of the Clifton Board of Education who have used that platform to spew hateful comments, and spread their anti-Israel, antisemitic view points at Clifton Public School events.
We cannot stress enough that for the Jewish community in Clifton to grow in terms of political strength and relevance, WE MUST VOTE. Elected officials check voter turnout by ward and keep track of who is voting and in what numbers.
The Board of Education decides the special education funding for our children, property tax allocation, and transportation reimbursements for private school students. Besides cleaning up the Board of Education from anti-Israel individuals, our vote is needed to get the services we deserve.
The CJCC has met with the candidates and researched their positions and statements. There are three open seats (on a nine-member body) and we are endorsing three candidates who we believe have the best chance to win and be a voice for our needs and concerns. In addition, each has said they do not agree with the Board of Education being a place where political views are aired.
Please vote:
#4 Joseph Siano
#6 Jim Smith
#7 Joseph Canova
Please see other community voting guides for State Senate and State Assembly endorsements.
Voting locations and dates:
Early in-person voting begins this Saturday, October 28 through Sunday, November 5 at the Clifton Public Library on 292 Piaget Ave, Clifton, New Jersey 07011. (Voting hours listed below.)
Election day at your polling place (you should get a postcard in the mail) will be Tuesday, November 7.
Early voting Sunday hours: 10 a.m.-
6 p.m.
Early voting other days: 10 a.m.- 8 p.m.
Election day polls are open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Clifton Jewish Community Council
Not the Right Fit for Bergenfield Board of Ed
We are writing in response to the October 19 article, “Leah Escott Bids for Seat
on Bergenfield Board of Ed.” As parents of Jewish students who currently attend or have attended Bergenfield public schools, we are very concerned that Ms. Escott is not the right fit for a Board of Education position.
She may have gone to public school herself, as she mentioned, but she seems to be anything but connected to the children who actually attend our schools in 2023. Her motto of “conservative values” goes far against the feeling of acceptance and inclusion that exists in all of our schools, from elementary through high school. This sense of inclusion means that students are met where they are and are accepted regardless of race, religion, gender identity, social class or sexuality. Because of this inclusion, our students already are respected and safe.
Escott says that she wants to protect children from the “nonsense of the progressive movement.” If by “progressive,” she means giving the opportunity for students to be identified as who they are and believe themselves to be, the opportunity to openly discuss our country’s history through debate, the opportunity for students of all ages within the district to be seen and heard, we wouldn’t want to identify ourselves as anything other than progressive. We are living in 2023, while her values seem to be from another time entirely.
If she had spent any time getting to know our students, getting to see what is taught in our classrooms, listening to our teachers, staff and administrators, having the experience of being a Bergenfield school district parent or grandparent, and getting to hear from families how their kids are welcomed, understood and supported without judgment, she and residents of our town would understand that she isn’t the right fit for the Bergenfield Board of Education.
Instead, we, as leaders in our temples and shuls, in our school parent associations, in our town-wide sports, social, volunteer and music programs, small business owners and professionals, managers of nonprofits, and most importantly, parents of Jewish students who are thriving in the Bergenfield public school district, are all standing with Fanny Cruz-Betesh. She has been a public school teacher for the last 16 years, a district parent for the last 10 years, a trustee on the Bergenfield Library board, a former Parents Association board member, a SEPAG member and district-wide MLK Day of Service volunteer. She has also most recently been endorsed by the Bergenfield Education Association, a group led by our in-district teachers and staff.
Rabbi Claire Ginsburg Goldstein
Tammy Hecht
Jocelyn Inglis
Nancy Metsch
Elsie Foster for Highland Park Mayor
I am going on record endorsing Elsie Foster for mayor in the upcoming general election that will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 7. For over two decades as a member of the Highland Park Borough Council, she has worked to ensure the safety of Highland Park residents and has regularly addressed important quality of life issues.
She has regularly engaged with the community by holding public forums to discuss community issues, including security for houses of worship, and making our borough a safe place for children.
Over the past decade, houses of worship and their congregants have come under attack throughout our country. Mayor Foster regularly meets with clergy and lay leaders of Highland Park’s houses of worship to discuss and coordinate security with the Highland Park Police Department. She has also supported state security funding for both public school and nonpublic school students.
Mayor Foster is a friend of the Jewish community. She voted in favor of a resolution condemning antisemitism, which included Highland Park adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s Working Definition of Anti-Semitism. She has met with community rabbis and leaders, and made visits to the Rabbi Pesach Raymon Yeshiva, where dozens of Highland Park families send their children for school. This past April, for Yom Ha’atzmaut, Mayor Foster held Highland Park’s first ever raising of the Israeli flag in front of its community center and recognized the shared values of the United States and Israel.
On the morning of the Oct. 7 massacre in Israel, when Jewish residents were in shul, Mayor Foster went to synagogues throughout the borough to let the rabbis know of the horrific tragedy. She also quickly organized a vigil to address the Highland Park Jewish community’s pain and fear caused by the massacre and to pray for the safe return of the hostages.
I believe Elsie Foster is the person best qualified to be our mayor. She is honest, reliable, open-minded, and willing to work tirelessly for the welfare of Highland Park. Voting is a way to show our gratitude. I urge the Jewish community in Highland Park to vote Elsie Foster for mayor.
Josh Fine
Former member of Borough Council of Highland Park
Member of Middlesex Black-Jewish Coalition
