Mayor, Governor Call For Jersey City School Trustee's Resignation

JERSEY CITY, NJ — The Jersey City Board of Education President, Gov. Phil Murphy, and Mayor Steve Fulop have called for a Jersey City Board of Education trustee to resign after she reportedly called Jews "brutes" following a mass shooting at a kosher market Dec. 10.

Board of Education President Sudhan Thomas said he will ask the board at a meeting Thursday to "not only censure Joan Terrell Paige, but also request that she tender her letter of resignation from the Jersey City Board of Education, effective immediately."

"I have come to this conclusion after a lot of review, our counsel, but importantly in the continuum of the strong sentiments expressed by the elected political leadership across Jersey City, Hudson County, and the State of New Jersey," Thomas said.

Thomas' statement echoed those issued by Murphy and Fulop.

"We will not let anti-Semitism and hate go unchallenged in our communities," Murphy said in a tweet Tuesday night. "In light of Ms. [Joan] Terrell-Paige's comments, I urge her to immediately resign from the Jersey City Board of Education."

Fulop said in a tweet Tuesday morning that he was "saddened" by Terrell Paige's comments.

"Her comments don't represent Jersey City or the sentiment in the community at all," Fulop said. "The African-American community in Greenville has been nothing short of amazing over the last week helping neighbors."

Jersey City Board of Education President Sudhan Thomas denounced the comments.

"Trustee Paige's comments do not reflect the Jersey City Board of Education or value system," Thomas said. "The Jersey City Board of Education is home to 30,000 students and 6,000 employees from various ethnicities, religions, cultures, and sexual orientations. There is no room for any kind of hate or bigotry in Jersey City. Trustee Paige's comment do not in any way reflect the sense of the Jersey City Board of Education in response to the terrorist attacks from last week."

Thomas said he has spoken to concerned residents, elected officials, and faith leaders since Sunday night regarding the post.

Thomas said officials are working with leaders of the Jersey City Jewish community to offer anti-bias and sensitivity training.

Terrell-Paige reportedly said in a long, since-deleted Facebook post said "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?" NorthJersey.com reported, showing a screenshot of the Facebook post.

Terrell Paige also said in the post she was not speaking as a board of education trustee, but as a private citizen, according to the NorthJersey.com report.

One of the suspected shooters in the mass shooting, David Anderson, 47, appeared to have a connection to the Black Hebrew Israelite movement, a law enforcement official told The New York Times. The Southern Poverty Law Center has called the movement a hate group. The movement has no connection to mainstream Judaism.

New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal previously said authorities have not established links between the movement and the suspects, Anderson and Francine Graham, 50.

Six people, two suspects, Jersey City police Detective Joseph Seals, and three civilians, were killed in the mass shooting. Seals' funeral was Tuesday.

Related:

• Slain Jersey City Police Officer 'An American Hero,' His Son Says
• 6 Killed In Jersey City Shooting Standoff; Police Officer Dies
• 'Hate' Note Reportedly Left By Attacker In Jersey City Killings

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com