NEW JERSEY (VINnews) — Court documents reveal shocking allegations of a recorded conversation between the mayor of Linden and two school officials, discussing their preferences for school hires. The mayor, now a congressional candidate, said that he wanted to “keep our community being taken over by guys with big hats and curls.” He also said that you can sometimes figure out someone’s ethnicity just from their names.
Join our WhatsApp groupSubscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
In a whistleblower lawsuit filed Thursday, Paul Oliveira, former assistant school superintendent, accused Mayor Derek Armstead, school board president Marlene Berghammer, Superintendent Atiya Y. Perkins, and others, of blatant antisemitism. Oliveira claims that they deliberately excluded Jews from being hired by the school.
“If it’s in a neighborhood school district,” said the school board president, “we don’t mind if it is a Black person or a Haitian-speaking person.”
“That’s what has to happen in order to keep our community being taken over by guys with big hats and curls,” Armstead said, referencing the growing Charedi community in Linden.
In a recorded meeting on Jan. 22, with Oliveira and Berghammer, Armstead warned that “Linden will go the same way as Roselle, Irvington, Newark if we don’t manage this thing the way that we’ve been trying to manage it, and that’s having full and complete control of who gets hired.”
“It’s a … over there from top to bottom,” Armstead said. “Because it’s been mismanaged for years, you know, and nobody, nobody’s taking the time to try to figure out how to fix it.”
“I don’t care what they are,” Armstead responded to the suggestion of Black or Haitian candidates. “If they’re from the general area here, that’s what we’re trying to build here. That’s what has to happen to keep our community from being taken over by guys with big hats and curls.”
Berghammer asked if they had demographic data on the applicants’ race or ethnicity.
“You can almost figure that out by the name sometimes,” Armstead suggested.
He also lamented a prospective maintenance worker who sold his house to someone in the Jewish community.
“Moved out of town,” Armstead said. “He sold his house to the guys with the big hats and the curls too. So, you know, everybody’s undermining the progress we’re trying to make here in town.”
Rabbi A.D Motzen, National Director of Government Affairs for Agudath Israel of America, tweeted in response to the allegations: “Shameful, blatant antisemitism. The mayor of Linden, NJ and school district leadership colluding to discriminate against hiring Orthodox Jews, so they don’t “take over” the city? How many civil rights violations can you count in this story?”
Shameful, blatant antisemitism. The mayor of Linden, NJ and school district leadership colluding to discriminate against hiring Orthodox Jews, so they don’t “take over” the city? How many civil rights violations can you count in this story? @CivilRights @NewJerseyOAG https://t.co/wpLgMB40e9
— A. D. Motzen (@ADMotzen) May 24, 2024
The mayor dismissed the allegations as “hogwash.”
The lawsuit claims that Armstead and other officials targeted job candidates specifically of African-American or Haitian descent while excluding Jewish individuals.
Armen McOmber, Oliveira’s attorney, called the accusations “deeply concerning.” He stated the complaint alleges that the mayor and school district members “engaged in illegal and antisemitic hiring practices” and that the Board of Education “unlawfully allowed Mayor Armstead to handpick candidates for open positions.”
The lawsuit says the mayor and others had a discriminatory agenda to prevent Jews from being hired, effectively trying to keep Linden from being “taken over” by Jews.
Regarding the (seemingly bombshell) recordings, the mayor said, “I’m glad he has me on tape. We are a good community, and we all get along with everyone in this town.” He added: “Nobody respects someone who comes into a room and starts tape recording people.”
An attorney for the Linden school district declined to comment.
Oliveira said he faced retaliation, including negative performance reviews, creating a hostile work environment that led to him taking medical leave for stress and anxiety. He eventually resigned due to the hostile environment.
Linden has a growing Chasidic community, already consisting of multiple shuls and yeshivos.
Maybe don’t vote for the Hamas Democrat party.
And crickets from the mainstream media.. it figures
This doesn’t seem to make much sense.
What positions were the Hasidim applying for in the school system there? Basketball coach? Inglish teecher?
Hasidim with big hats and curls don’t usually occupy such positions.
I’ve been going to the Linden community for many many many years for kashrus purposes, even before the chasidishe kehila moved in. I was probably there before the Yeshiva opened before it moved.
There are many many many frum businesses in the Linden area. People have successful businesses BH and are providing to the tax revenue of the city. Only ingrates would want to take it back to תהו ובוהו וחושך על פני תהום .
In spite of our need for expanded housing and new and larger areas to be able to move to, WHY do we always seem to need to push into places where we are not only not wanted, but worse – HATED! What always ends up happening in these communities where the non-Jewish residents invariably feel they are getting forced/pushed out, (even though they get top-dollar for their properties) – is that there is so much antagonism, court-cases, resentments, etc. Who wants to live in such an environment? It’s just not worth the
bigger house and nice backyard when you have next door neighbors that curse you every time you pass one another. We need to avoid pushing ourselves on top of people who harbor such anti-semitism .Maybe some chochomim can come up with some better solutions.