A Jersey City Board of Education member is facing mounting calls to resign after she referred to Jewish people as “brutes” in response to last week’s anti-Semitic shooting at a local kosher supermarket that left four people dead.

Board member Joan Terrell-Paige made a Facebook comment on Monday that blasted the outpouring of support for Jersey City’s Jewish community after two alleged black supremacists reportedly targeted Jews during the Dec. 10 attack.

“Where was all this faith and hope when Black homeowners were threatened, intimidated, and harassed by I WANT TO BUY YOUR HOUSE brutes of the jewish community,” Ms. Terrell-Paige, who is black, wrote in the now-deleted comment.

She also asked whether the assailants, who were both killed in the attack, were trying to send a “message.”

“I believe they knew they would come out in body bags,” she wrote. “What is the message they were sending? Are we brave enough to explore the answer to their message? Are we brave enough to stop the assault on the Black communities of America?”

Ms. Terrell-Paige ended her post with, “I am speaking as a private citizen not as an elected member of the Jersey City Board of Education – these beliefs are mine and mine alone.”

Ms. Terrell-Paige was widely condemned for her comments and is facing calls to resign from Gov. Phil Murphy and the city’s mayor.

“We will not let anti-Semitism and hate go unchallenged in our communities,” the governor tweeted. “In light of Ms. Terrell Paige’s comments, I urge her to immediately resign from the Jersey City Board of Education.”

Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, who is Jewish, tweeted, “I saw this and I’m saddened by the ignorance her comments demonstrate. Her comments don’t represent Jersey City or the sentiment in the community at all.”

Ms. Terrell-Paige showed no remorse for the comments when reached by Politico, telling the outlet that it wasn’t her who deleted the post.

Asked if she regretted her statements, she said, “No, I don’t.”

This long rant by Joan Terrell, an elected member of the Jersey City board of ed, exposes just how deep and sordid antisemitism is over there!@jcps_district should look into this - is this how you want to be represented?!



There are some truly sick people out there. pic.twitter.com/FipklqzSvv — Dov Hikind (@HikindDov) December 17, 2019

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