(JTA) — The Republican nominee for New Jersey governor has come after one of his aides said he wasn’t “taking money from Jews” at a campaign event.

Ibrar Nadeem, the Muslim relations adviser to Jack Ciattarelli, made the remarks at a “community dinner” in Piscataway, New Jersey, on Saturday organized by a group called Muslims 4 Jack.

“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,’” Nadeem told the crowd.

Minutes earlier, Nadeem also said that Ciattarelli’s campaign wanted to have a “ban on same-sex marriage.”

#NJ gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli is getting an endorsement so big, it might lead to victory (Lakewood Vaad). He made an appearance with Muslims4Jack too “We want to have a ban on same-sex marriage…I was blamed that somebody said you are taking money from Jews.” https://t.co/3Lz4jHXWQv pic.twitter.com/ap71tBQEX9

— Michael Matthews (@mcm1071989) October 20, 2025

Following Nadeem’s remarks, Ciattarelli took to the stage and praised Nadeem, telling the crowd that the advisor “hasn’t let me down one day” since the pair met eight months ago. He also boasted that he was the “first gubernatorial candidate in history that has a Muslim as part of his inner circle of advisors.”

Both men’s remarks swiftly drew criticism from Ciattarelli’s opponent, Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill, who is currently leading the race by single digits in most public polling.

“This blatant antisemitism is coming from a member of Jack’s inner circle,” wrote Sherrill in a post on X Monday. “Jack could have condemned it but instead sang his praises. Absolutely disgraceful.”

Hours later, she demanded that Ciattarelli denounce Nadeem’s comments, fire him and apologize for “praising him right after he made these antisemitic and homophobic statements” in another social media post.

Ciattarelli’s response to Nadeem’s comments also drew condemnation from Jewish Democratic Rep. Josh Gottheimer, who lost his gubernatorial bid to Sherrill earlier this year.

“A real friend of the Jewish community doesn’t applaud disgusting antisemitic tropes,” Gottheimer told reporters Tuesday. “They condemn them.”

In response to Sherrill’s allegations, Ciattarelli accused the Democratic candidate of being a “Mamdani supporter” — a reference to the Muslim and anti-Zionist Democratic candidate for mayor in New York City — who didn’t “have the moral courage to stand with Israel.”

“Do you ever get tired of lying @MikieSherrill? You know I support same sex marriage. You also know the full clip of Dr. Nadeem’s remarks are clear: He was talking about the grief he gets from some BECAUSE of my unwavering support for the Jewish community and Israel and his own efforts to build bridges between Muslim and non-Muslim communities,” wrote Ciattarelli in a post on X.

The Vaad, a group of Orthodox community leaders in Lakewood, New Jersey, and neighboring towns, is expected to endorse Ciattarelli in the coming days, according to the Lakewood Scoop.

Nadeem thanked Ciattarelli for his defense in a post on Facebook where he claimed he had worked to foster ties between Muslim and Jewish communities in New Jersey.

“Mikie Sherrill, your attacks are false. I’ve spent years building bridges—especially between Muslim and Jewish communities—and I’m proud of that work,” wrote Nadeem. “To my Jewish friends, thank you for standing with me and rejecting division. Truth and unity will beat political lies—every time. 🇺🇸”

The post NJ Republican gubernatorial nominee faces backlash after aide says he wouldn’t take ‘money from Jews’ appeared first on The Forward.

(JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday dismissed claims that Israel is a protectorate of the United States, as U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance visited the country to monitor the fragile ceasefire with Hamas.

“One week they say that Israel controls the United States. A week later, they say the United States controls Israel. This is hogwash,” said Netanyahu beside Vance in Jerusalem. “We have a partnership, an alliance of partners who share common values, common goals.”

Vance arrived in Israel Tuesday amid reports that the White House was concerned that Netanyahu would seek to resume the war in Gaza, also rejected the idea that the United States wanted Israel to become a “vassal state.”

He said the goal was to be in “partnership” with Israel in preserving the ceasefire, which he said his visit was part of an effort to monitor.

“This thing takes monitoring, and it’s going to take a lot of work,” Vance said. “It’s not about monitoring in the sense of, you know, you monitor a toddler. It’s about monitoring in the sense that there’s a lot of work, a lot of good people who are doing that work, and it’s important for the principles of the administration to keep on ensuring that our people are doing what we need them to do.”

As the ceasefire deal progresses following the release of the remaining 20 living hostages in Gaza, Vance said he hoped the deal could serve as an “opportunity to build on the Abraham Accords,” a set of deals that established diplomatic ties between Israel and several Arab nations during the first Trump administration.

The leaders also discussed future governance in Gaza, which is supposed to be negotiated following the first phase of the ceasefire deal, the release of hostages and prisoners and the retraction of Israeli troops from some parts of Gaza. Netanyahu said he had “very strong opinions” about the prospect of Turkish involvement in Gaza as part of a proposed international security force, but he said Israel would be “flexible to accommodate” American interests in the region.

“A strong Israel serves America’s interest in stabilizing this very unstable region, and you can’t stabilize it without a strong Israel,” said Netanyahu. “So we make the decisions for the security of Israel, but we make common decisions for the region, which I think can service both, and that’s what we discussed today.”

The post In Jerusalem, Vance and Netanyahu reject idea that Israel is a ‘vassal state’ of the US appeared first on The Forward.

(JTA) — When Israeli pop star Yoni Bloch created a music video in January depicting scenes of the Israeli hostages returning through the use of artificial intelligence, it was meant as a hopeful fantasy.

At the time, Bloch’s song, “Sof Tov” or “A Happy Ending,” went viral in Israel for offering optimism for the release of the nearly 100 hostages still held in Gaza. It also envisioned peace in the region accompanying the end of the war in Gaza.

Now, nine months later, after the remaining 20 living hostages in Gaza were finally reunited with their families in Israel, Bloch has remade the music video with real-life scenes that mirror those previously only seen through AI.

The new video features emotional clips of the hostage families rejoicing at the news of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, as well as clips of them embracing their loved ones after two years of captivity.

“Unbelievable that the clip came true❤️🎗️,” read the caption of a post of the two videos on Bloch’s Instagram account.

Praise for the new music video resounded in the comments of Bloch’s post, with one user commenting, “You are a genius. It looked so far away from us. Dreams really do come true.”

While the release of the living hostages has been met with celebration across Israel, the slow repatriation of the deceased hostages in Gaza, in part because the location of some of the bodies is unknown, has stirred frustration among the Israeli public.

“Stunning and exciting but not everyone has returned yet 💛 💛 💛,” wrote one user in the comments of Bloch’s post.

Others also shared that Bloch’s vision for regional peace in the original music video (and his aspiration of performing alongside Taylor Swift) had not yet been realized. The new video does not include visualizations of a postwar realignment in the region, in keeping with the uncertainty about the broader implications of the ceasefire.

On Wednesday, Vice President J.D. Vance met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel and said that he hoped the new ceasefire deal could serve as an “opportunity to build on the Abraham Accords.”

“Only world peace and Taylor Swift is left and the clip is complete,” wrote one user in the comments of the Instagram post.

The post Israeli pop star remakes AI music video showing war’s end with real scenes of freed hostages appeared first on The Forward.