HOWELL – Tensions ran high at a Township Council meeting as residents and activists clashed over a resolution addressing a controversial billboard and the broader Israel-Palestine conflict.
The resolution, initially aimed at condemning antisemitism, sparked heated debate and ultimately underwent revisions to oppose all hate. References to the billboard were removed from the final document approved by the governing body.
No longer on display, the billboard affixed to a structure owned by Lamar Advertising Company was located on Route 9 on the Howell/Lakewood border. It contained the message “Stand with Humanity. Stand with Palestine. Paid for by Voice for Humanity Project.”
The Voice for Humanity Project is a Palestinian-led nonprofit dedicated to amplifying unheard voices, driving transformative change, and urgently addressing humanitarian needs. Their website lists a post office box in Fairview, located in Bergen County.
Representatives of the group at the Council meeting said they did not intentionally target the Howell-Lakewood border. However, the billboard’s placement raised questions among some members of the Orthodox Jewish community, who felt it contained a targeted message against them.
Approximately 100 people attended the Council meeting. Before public commentary began, Township Attorney Caitlen Harney clarified the motivation behind the resolution, stating it stemmed from concerns raised by residents about the sign’s message, which some perceived as antisemitic.
Harney said the governing body lacked the authority and ability to restrict the content of billboards. She said such considerations are part of First Amendment rights – specifically freedom of speech.
“But we are not condoning any type of discrimination,” said Harney. “Any type of hate speech whether it be any type of race, religion, national origin.”
In the initial phase of public commentary, pro-Palestinian advocates took the floor, many dedicating their allotted five minutes to criticize Israel, its policies, and the loss of lives.
Howell resident Dr. Hisham Hamza, a member of the Islamic Center of Ocean County, expressed concerns about the perception of the billboard as antisemitic in the first place. He highlighted the humanitarian crisis in Palestine, urging people to look at Palestinian civilians with empathy, emphasizing their lack of control over their circumstances.
“Antisemitism is real, and we condemn it very much,” said Hamza. “Not just as a fellow Americans – but also as Semites. We are Arabs. We are from this Middle East area. And by our DNA, we are Semite.”
Others, like Howell local Gabriella Greene, expressed concerns about the resolution’s focus. Greene questioned why a ceasefire resolution she recently proposed to the Council had been overlooked in favor of addressing the billboard.
Three members of the Darwish family spoke about their experiences in Howell as first-generation Palestinians. Hadel, 24, Zaid, 22, and Leen, 20, told Council members of the difficulties they’ve experienced because of their cultural background.
“I would get odd looks because my country does not exist or that it is Israel, not Palestine,” Leen shared. “My entire life, any time I’ve tried to speak up about the injustice in Palestine, I have been silenced…and even though I stayed near facts, I would be told that I was antisemitic.”
At 11, Tamer, the youngest of the Darwish family, has already experienced problems because of his family’s national origin. When a classmate told Tamer that his relatives were responsible for the atrocities of 911, Tamer reported the incident to his school guidance counselor.
Members of the Jewish community who attended the meeting pointed out that it was held one day after Holocaust Remembrance Day. For David Singer of Lakewood, the billboard came with a message that left him uncomfortable.
“That billboard was, in other words, saying ‘Jews get out.’ That’s the way I felt,” shared Singer. “And I urge everybody to do the best that’s in their power to restore the tranquility, to restore freedom of speech, democracy, but most of all humanity, as somebody said earlier, how humanity should be defined.”
Boruch Perlowitz moved to Howell seven years ago after living in Israel for four years. Originally from Brooklyn, Perlowitz commended local officials and the Howell Police Department for their work. However, he said he’s felt less safe in the world since October 7 and assumed most Jews felt the same way.
An experience in Point Pleasant Beach served to remind Perlowitz that antisemitism still exists today.
“A group of teenagers passed by us and shouted ‘Heil Hitler,’ Perlowitz reported. “Not Free Palestine, but ‘Heil Hitler.’”
Eliza Letterman, who has lived in Howell almost her entire life, offered her perspective on the issue of antisemitism. She described herself as a proud Jewish woman who had the unique experience of growing up in a very large Orthodox Jewish community.
Letterman, a senior at Emerson College, said she’d seen and felt antisemitism during her youth. Her parents also encountered it, and it was rampant on social media. Letterman couldn’t remember the town taking any action against what she viewed as blatant harassment and discrimination that Jewish people faced within the community before the events of October 7.
“Which leads me to the point that this town’s residents are not actually concerned with antisemitism and discrimination against us,” said Letterman. “They just don’t want to stand with Palestinians.”
Letterman said her Jewish upbringing taught her to stand up against oppression and genocide. She was recently part of a peaceful protest at her college that Letterman said led to her brutalization and arrest by police on campus.
More than one speaker suggested that anti-Zionism does not equate to antisemitism.
The meeting was volatile but controlled as police officers kept ready to prevent any physical attacks. That’s not to say there weren’t numerous verbal assaults.
A local Orthodox man questioned the authenticity of some Jewish-looking attendees supporting Palestinians. He said some of the individuals dressed like Orthodox men were likely paid actors. Palestinian supporters expressed similar sentiments concerning what they viewed as a staged meeting disruption.
An individual wearing a police chaplain vest and Trump cap, draped an American flag around his shoulders and held a sign reading “We Stand With Israel.” He shouted loudly about his recent experience in Israel. A loud uproar ensued as another man chanted “Blah, blah, blah” to drown out the sound of the disruption.
Howell resident Sheri Reavis spoke out against the disturbance and expressed her disappointment. While she admitted that no one was there to broker world peace, she hoped for better.
Following a closed-door session, the Council opted to change the resolution’s focus. The original draft condemned antisemitism and expressed support for the Jewish community. The revised resolution, however, broadly denounced all forms of hate speech and discrimination.
Moshe Klein of Howell expressed his disappointment in the Council’s inability to pass a resolution solely condemning antisemitism.
However, Voice for Humanity Project’s Instagram account called the change in the resolution a victory that “serves as a testament to the resilience of pro-Palestinian advocacy and the triumph of justice over the deplorable tactics employed by Zionists to suppress the truth and vilify Voice for Humanity.”
