New bipartisan PAC will help Jewish candidates in New Jersey

A new bipartisan political action committee, Justice Equity Wins (JEWPAC), has been formed to help Jewish candidates win public office in New Jersey.

“We will support Jewish candidates for state and local office to embody Jewish values,” said Miranda Meyers, a PAC co-chair.

Meyers said the group organizing the new PAC “know how important it is to be sure all voices are represented in politics.”

“With the recent rise in anti-Semitism in New Jersey and across the country, I am looking forward to ensuring that a louder, more unified Jewish community’s voice is heard at all levels in our State,” Meyers said.

The PAC cited a record number of antis-Semitic incidents in 2021, and a 2019 incident where a group of Trenton local officials unabashedly used “Jew them down” to describe the process of negotiating a better price.

“You know, it’s like a car dealer, they wanted $5,000, you Jew ‘em down to $4,000,” said Councilman George Muschal., defending statements made by two councilwomen, Robin Vaughn and  Kathy McBride.  “It’s nothing vicious.  The expression has been said millions of times.”

New Jersey is the home of approximately 550 members of the Oath Keepers, an anti-government milia group with ties to anti-Semitism and Holocaust deniers.

New Jersey was represented in the United States Senate for nearly 30 years by Frank R. Lautenberg, who was active in national Jewish causes before he launched a political career in 1982.  Today, the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in the state is Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Wyckoff).  He is a frequent target of anti-Semitic tropes on social media.

“We are unabashedly Jewish, proud to be Jews, and are eager to support current and developing candidates who are of the same mind,” said Meyers.  “We are a group of New Jersey Jews from all sides of the political and religious spectrum who have recognized the need for a united Jewish voice in New Jersey and the unique challenges that Jewish candidates and elected officials face.”