Anti-Semitism is alive and well on the Jersey City Board of Education. One board member was given a free pass after posting an anti-Semitic rant following an anti-Semitic shooting. Jersey City Jewish students should not have to be concerned that the officials running their schools view them as “brutes” or deserving of violent attacks. That’s why New Tolerance Campaign is calling on all decent Americans to stand with Jersey City’s Jewish students and faculty by calling for the resignation of  Board of Education member Joan Terrell-Paige.   

Terrell-Paige made her anti-Semitic comments in response to the December 10th shooting at a kosher market in Greenville, NJ. Two shooters killed a police officer and three others in the attack which authorities said was ”fueled by both anti-Semitism and anti-law enforcement beliefs.” In discussing the attack on Facebook, Terrell-Paige used classic anti-Semitic tropes to accuse the local Jewish community of marginalizing the local black community, finishing her post by asking “Are we brave enough explore the answer to [the shooters’] message?” The Facebook post is now deleted, but @ReaganBattalion posted a screenshot on Twitter:   

Joan Terrell is an elected member of the Jersey City Board of Education, she says that the murders of the Jews in Jersey City may be justified. @jcps_district pic.twitter.com/H5o0yqpcnO

— Reagan Battalion (@ReaganBattalion) December 17, 2019

Initially, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop and NJ Gov. Phil Murphy joined many voices in calling for Terrell-Paige’s resignation. According to CNN, outgoing Board President Sudhan Thomas said he was going to request Terrell-Paige’s resignation at the next school board meeting, but the meeting was then canceled for vague “potential security risks” and Sudhan’s time in office ended at the close of 2019.  

Since then, Jersey City officials have been strangely silent, but we have not forgotten that an anti-Semite sits on the school’s education board. NTC is calling on all concerned citizens to make sure Terrell-Paige resigns by sending messages to the full School Board (including Terrell-Paige) and Mayor Fulop demanding that they continue to push for her resignation.   

Anti-Semitism has no place in our nation, and especially not in our public schools. Terrell-Paige must go!  

View the campaign here: https://bit.ly/366R82k