Michael Gordon is “tired of people telling us how we should feel” in his hometown of Highland Park, where the borough has struggled for almost a year to pass a resolution condemning anti-Semitism.
“We want the town to have our backs,” said Gordon, an organizer of the Central Jersey Jewish Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel advocacy organization.
After public and private meetings, educational forums and anti-Semitic incidents locally and nationally, the borough might just be ready to do that.
A 10th version of the resolution is on the March 3 council agenda, including a provision that has been a point of contention—that anti-Zionism is a form of anti-Semitism.
“It was a long process where we tried to listen to as many different voices as possible,” said Councilman Matthew Hale, who had served as council liaison to the human relations commission (HRC) throughout much of the ordeal.
The commission had offered input after holding meetings, including one where Rabbi Esther Reed, associate senior director of Rutgers Hillel and a Highland Park resident, was invited to give a presentation on the history of anti-Semitism in the United States.
“This version has broad support among the council members,” said Hale. It resulted from meetings held privately and publicly with residents on both sides of the issue, a borough-organized town hall, gatherings with the American Jewish Committee, and most recently, a Feb. 10 forum featuring Mark Weitzman, director of government affairs for the Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC), that drew more than 400 community members and local governing officials.
Weitzman spearheaded the 2016 adoption of the working definition of anti-Semitism of the International Holocaust Remembrance Authority, now used by 31 countries, the State Department and many states and communities in the U.S.
“Through these meetings and drafts we think we have brought this to a consensus,” said Hale.
The local sticking point has always been whether to name the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel as a form of anti-Semitism. BDS has been recognized by various countries, Congress, many states and communities in the U.S., including 25 in New Jersey, as a form of anti-Semitism, according to statistics provided by the SWC. France’s National Assembly, most recently, has also named BDS as a form of anti-Semitism.
Hale noted that after the quest to pass a resolution began, “incidents that crystalized for us the importance of taking a strong stand against anti-Semitism,” have occurred, including possibly anti-Semitic graffiti scrawled outside Congregation Ahavas Achim in Highland Park and the deadly anti-Semitic attacks in Jersey City and Monsey. The most local and notable issue, however, was the children’s book “P Is for Palestine” reading at the Highland Park Library by author Dr. Golbarg Bashi, a BDS supporter, originally scheduled for May. The book has been criticized as anti-Israeli and supportive of violent insurrection, and the reading was arranged by Jewish Voice for Peace, an organization the Anti-Defamation League classifies as anti-Semitic.
BDS is not specifically mentioned in the draft resolution, but it states the following: “In contrast to legitimate protest movements that have sought racial justice and social change and promoted coexistence, civil rights and political reconciliation, movements that coopt legitimate means of social action to unfairly promote economic warfare against the State of Israel in an attempt to deny its legitimacy are another form of anti-Semitism and contrary to the essential values of government under which this council performs its obligations to the public.”
The resolution last came up for a vote on Oct. 29, at a more than four-hour meeting during which both sides squared off during the public session. Ultimately, the three non-Jewish council members acknowledged they felt too confused about BDS to vote in favor of including it in the resolution. With one voting against it and two to table—which legally counted as no votes—and three members voting in favor, Mayor Gayle Brill Mittler, who only gets a vote in the case of a tie, was thrust into the position of voting “for the good and safety of the community” against a resolution she had requested be drafted.
Before doing so, a tearful Brill Mittler, a former president of the Highland Park Conservative Temple-Congregation Anshe Emeth, delivered a strong declaration decrying the BDS movement.
Hale said that while he and fellow Councilman Josh Fine took the lead in the latest resolution draft, “every council member had a hand in contributing something to it.”
He especially praised Councilwoman Stephany Kim-Chohan, who took over as liaison to the HRC Jan. 1, for her commitment to understanding the issue.
“She did not have a great knowledge of Judaism or anti-Semitism, but went out and asked and genuinely became educated and informed by talking to people in the community,” he said, adding that her journey also provided a future roadmap for the Jewish community in dealing with such issues.
“To those of us deeply enmeshed in the Jewish community, this seems so obvious,” said Hale. “For others this is more difficult. But I think the council and the community learned that education and outreach is fundamental.”
Meanwhile, the snowballing divisiveness over the issue has had a frightening effect in a diverse community where signs on homes and businesses proclaim: “Hate has no home here.”
Gordon said he has had pennies thrown at him and been called a “f—g Jew” while walking down Raritan Avenue, Highland Park’s main street.
“This is not going away,” he said. “People keep saying the Jewish community is divided. We are not divided…every rabbi of every denomination has spoken out about the need to include anti-Zionism as a form of anti-Semitism. This has nothing to do with denying anyone free speech. You can still criticize the Israeli government. We need to get this passed and behind us.”
By Debra Rubin
