Robert Wiener Reports: Campaigning in a newly crafted Fifth Congressional District that now includes several Bergen County communities with large Jewish populations, Republican incumbent Scott Garrett and his Democratic challenger, Adam Gussen, are trading barbs over support of Israel and other issues of Jewish interest. After redistricting, Dist. 5 also includes towns like Teaneck and Englewood, parts of Passaic and Sussex counties, and all 22 municipalities in Warren County.
Gussen, an Orthodox Jew and insurance company executive from Teaneck who has been the town’s deputy mayor, acknowledges that President Barack Obama “has a PR problem” when it comes to dealing with Israel. But, he added quickly, “the people of Israel are safer today than they were four years ago because of the funding for the Iron Dome anti-missile systems,” which shield southern Israel from rocket attacks.
