from Facebook , Marla Glick-Sherman :Below is a letter I sent to Alexandra Harwin, her husband, Rabbi Noah Fabricant and for publication in northjersey.com media. It is in direct response to a recent mailing sent to all Ridgewood residents inferring our Mayor, Susan Knudsen, is sympathetic to Nazism and Hitler Youth. It is a false and repugnant claim that has brought Ms. Harwin’s campaign for Village Council to a new low.
Your views on a garage, multi-family housing, or commuter parking should not eclipse the unconscionable use of antisemitism to win an election. Ms. Harwin’s campaign is built on lies and platitudes. The campaign of Susan Knudsen and Michael Sedon is built on experience and honesty. Read the real facts here: https://voteridgewood.com/.
Dear Ms Harwin,
The type of village council campaign you are running is not becoming of Ridgewood, the Jewish community or Temple Beth Or. As a member of all three groups I am embarrassed to be associated with you or what your campaign stands for. If you truly believe in inclusion, civility and making Ridgewood a better place, you are not setting an appropriate example. Your latest mailer (with references to Nazism) was shameful and contains dangerous and libelous inferences that have no place in our local election, our Village or our country.
Becoming a Ridgewood Village Councilwoman demands a genuine interest in participating in the matters of our Village. I might be convinced of your sincere interest in running if you regularly attended village council meetings or if you had ever publicly expressed an opinion on the issues facing our village up until now. But to base your candidacy on a false assertion and then forge a smear campaign and attack someone’s character without attempting to learn the facts, is neither respectful nor does it follow the basic tenents of Judaism. Jewish law reveres truthfulness, and to paraphrase Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel, it is truth, justice and peace that are the three pillars of Judaism. I do not believe your campaign demonstrates or attempts to achieve any of these basic principles. Your own campaign mailer states, “As a civil rights attorney, I know there is no excuse for bullying and abuse, online or anywhere.” How can you honestly make that claim and then spew vulgar and offensive propaganda on the very same piece of paper?
I have no doubt you will go after the goal of winning this election with the same intensity that has earned you your résumé. I only wish that you would choose to stick to the real issues facing our Village with more than mere platitudes, stop spreading lies and remove the inflammatory inferences from your campaign material. It undermines your credibility and embarrasses Ridgewood, our Jewish community and the reputation of the Temple Beth Or family.
