NJ 11th District Candidates Participate in Jewish Federation Forum

Joseph Belnome, Republican candidate for Congress in New Jersey’s 11th District and Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill (D) participated in a forum sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Greater Metrowest NJ, with topics primarily focused on Israel and antisemitism among other issues of interest to the Jewish community.

Mr. Belnome, having never held elective office, took the opportunity to raise his profile with the Jewish community. “The State of Israel and the Jewish people are facing an existential threat, and I welcomed the opportunity for them to get to know me,” said Mr. Belnome. “I thank the Federation for sponsoring the event.”

The primary comments and concerns from Mr. Belnome regarding Congresswoman Sherrill’s perspective against Israel and the Jewish community included the following:

• Belnome listed the failures of Congresswoman Sherrill to the Jewish community stating that in the early days after October 7, when Israel’s existence hung in the balance and her vote was needed the most, she voted against aid to Israel.
• He noted that a ceasefire, as advocated by Congresswoman Sherrill, restrains Israel’s ability to win and allows those who wish to destroy Israel to re-arm and try again. This would ensure that this 7th war in Gaza will lead to an 8th and this third war in Lebanon will lead to a fourth. Belnome said, “I don’t want a ceasefire. I want the total defeat and unconditional surrender of those who seek to destroy Israel and our Western way of life so that Israel can live in peace with its neighbors and NOT have to defend itself. I want this to be the last war that Israel and the region have to fight. If Israel takes Mikie Sherrill’s advice [regarding a ceasefire], Sinwar, assuming he’s still alive, comes out of those tunnels with his hands raised in victory.”
• Regarding his qualifications for serving in office, he responded. “Moral clarity. I have it and Mikie Sherrill does not.” He noted that 10 days after the October 7 attacks, Mikie Sherrill said “Israel has a responsibility to ensure food, water and power reach Gaza.” Belnome added, “While Israel was still burying their loved ones and identifying the remains of its people burned and butchered on October 7, Mikie Sherrill castigated Israel on its responsibility to Gaza. Mikie Sherrill never discusses antisemitism without talking about Islamophobia. To be clear, I am against all forms of hate and discrimination including anti-Muslim hate, but it’s not Muslim kids on our college campuses that are being barred from their classrooms and libraries, it’s Jewish kids and the moral equivalency needs to stop.”
• Belnome challenged Congresswoman Sherrill’s calls for a “Two-state solution”. He said, “The citizens of Gaza are Palestinian, and they are governed by Palestinians, so Gaza is effectively a Palestinian State. Instead of investing the hundreds of billions of dollars the world has given them to develop that beautiful coastline, the money was used to enrich their leaders, to buy weapons, to build terror tunnels and wreak havoc on their people and their neighbors.” He continued, “I am not against the concept of a Palestinian State living side by side in peace with Israel, but how can we credibly have this conversation now? Until Mikie Sherrill can name a Palestinian leader who will agree to recognize Israel and not seek to claim Israel as their own, her demands for a Palestinian State ring hollow. For there to be a true and lasting peace, the Palestinian population needs to be disarmed and de-radicalized. Those are the necessary pre-conditions for this hoped-for leader to emerge. And the day such a leader arises, I would expect that Israel will once again extend their hand in peace.”
• Regarding the rise of antisemitism in America, Belnome recalled this year’s Democrat election slogan, “We’re not going back.” With the increase in incidents of antisemitism, can there be a more insulting slogan for Jewish Americans? Mikie Sherrill may not want to go back, but I want to go back to a world where Jews don’t have to be afraid to walk on the streets of America, and I want to go back to a world where Jews feel safe enough to enter their places of worship without the presence of armed guards to protect them. We have to take a step back so we can take two steps forward.”
• Belnome also advocated for cutting off funding for universities from places like Qatar and China and said that students and professors who are in the United States on a visa and align with terrorists should have their visas revoked.

For Congresswoman Sherrill’s part, the following are noteworthy:

• When asked her position on whether visas should be revoked under similar circumstances, she declined to answer the question.
• There were several invitations from synagogues that both candidates received to appear in person, but she declined.
• At the last minute, she did not consent to have this forum recorded.

“Mikie Sherrill has an eloquent way of putting words together that don’t say anything,” added Belnome. “Her record on Israel is so appalling that she has refused to defend it in person in front of a Jewish audience. She is hiding from the Jewish community because she knows that she has failed them and she has failed the district. Mikie Sherrill has ambitions for higher office so she would rather appeal to constituencies outside the district who are less supportive of Israel. She wants it both ways, and I hope that people can see through the mask.”