An ally in a New Jersey Republican gubernatorial candidate's "inner circle" is under fire for antisemitic and homophobic comments.
Jack Ciattarelli's ally and Muslim relations advisor, Ibrar Nadeem, apparently held an event Saturday where he made comments about banning gay marriage and Jewish people, Politico reports Wednesday.
The unpaid adviser allegedly said "that people in his community accuse him of 'taking money from Jews,'" and he replied, "I check my bank account every day, brother, it is not there."
Ciattarelli, who was attending the event and spoke later, said that he is the “first gubernatorial candidate in history that has a Muslim as part of his inner circle of advisers.” He also praised Nadeem for his work.
Ciattarelli's opponent for the governor position, Democrat Rep. Mikie Sherrill, said that Ciattarelli should “denounce these comments, fire the individual responsible, and apologize for praising him right after he made these antisemitic and homophobic statements.”
“It’s 2025 and The Jack Campaign opposes same-sex marriage,” Sherrill wrote, responding to the incident on social media.
"This blatant antisemitism is coming from a member of Jack’s inner circle,” she added.
“Jack could have condemned it but instead sang his praises,” she said. “Absolutely disgraceful.”
Ciattarelli denied that he opposes same-sex marriage and apparently tried to tie Sherrill to Zohran Mamdani, a Muslim Democratic Socialist candidate running to be New York City mayor.
