Jackson Mayor Reina Under Fire After Release of Incriminating Audio

Michael Reina, mayor of Jackson, NJ, is taking heat after an alarming audio clip that was recently released seems to unmask his anti-Orthodox bias.

In the audio clip, an unnamed person, identified on media sites as former Ocean County Republican Chairman George Gilmore, can be heard asking Reina “if these were churches, would we be fighting them?” Reina, without pause, answers, “Absolutely not.”

While the circulated clip lacks compelling context, a court declaration given by Rabbi Yisroel Schenkolewski backs up the media reports. In the declaration, Rabbi Schenkolewski writes that he was in attendance at a meeting on March 22, 2019, and that during the course of the meeting, “with respect to the issue of synagogues and shuls, Mayor Reina was asked ‘if these were churches, would we be fighting them?’ Mayor Reina responded, ‘Absolutely not.’”

The clip has unleashed a torrent of backlash, and many have been calling for the mayor to step down. Last month, Jackson Council President Rob Nixon resigned abruptly, citing family commitments. Nixon was largely seen as the face of the anti-Orthodox movement in Jackson, and the force behind many of the alleged bias-driven ordinances. In August of this year, three members of Jackson land-use boards resigned after audio was released of them attending and commenting at a clandestine meeting of an organization associated with anti-Orthodox activism.

{Matzav.com Newscenter / Photo: Shore News Network}