(Bergen Record) Eighteen months later, a city school commissioner’s critical comments about Israel’s treatment of Palestinians are dogging him on the campaign trail — and fueling a debate over political speeches during public meetings.
Fahim Abedrabbo, a trustee on the Clifton Board of Education, is seeking a new office — he’s among 17 candidates vying for seven seats on the City Council in next week’s election. But his remarks last year have drawn the ire of some residents and prompted a court case alleging he violated New Jersey’s School Ethics Act by using his platform to attack Israel.
During a board meeting on May 20, 2021, Abedrabbo delivered a speech in which he referred to clashes in Israel, saying he worried about Palestinian children whose “homes will be destroyed or their neighborhoods being ethnically cleansed.” A Palestinian American born in the U.S., he recounted being detained and strip-searched, apparently by Israeli forces.
