Support from New Jersey’s sizable Jewish community could be critical in the state’s upcoming gubernatorial primary, which features Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) as early frontrunners. The two candidates’ records on Israel policy in the House — which feature notable differences — are poised to play a role in shaping the outcome of what’s set to be a highly contentious primary.

Gottheimer has been among the most vocal Democrats in his support for Israel throughout his congressional career, but especially in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks, breaking frequently with the Biden administration and other Democrats. Sherrill’s record, some Jewish leaders in the state tell Jewish Insider, is more mixed. She’s repeatedly been critical of Israeli operations in Gaza and accused Israel of failing to facilitate sufficient humanitarian aid, while also expressing support for Israel’s defense, the U.S.-Israel relationship and the release of hostages.

Sherrill was an early advocate among House lawmakers for Israel to implement a “humanitarian pause” in its operations in Gaza, on Nov. 2, 2023, while also calling for the unconditional release of hostages, and accused the Israeli government of lacking a plan or goals for the war and its aftermath.

Later in November, the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ New Jersey chapter alleged that Sherrill had said in a meeting with Muslim leaders that she was “unsure” if Israel’s operations in Gaza constituted a genocide. Sherrill said subsequently that she had been misquoted and that she had told the group that Israel was not committing genocide.

She also rejected the South African genocide case against Israel, saying she had “not heard or seen evidence that there is an effort by the military … to eradicate specific portions of or all of the Palestinian people in Gaza.”

In December, Sherrill and fellow Democrats with national security backgrounds, including Sen.-elect Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), the latter of whom is mounting a gubernatorial run in Virginia, called for the administration to exert pressure on Israel to change its military strategy and tactics in its Gaza operations, arguing that the civilian harm in Gaza was “unacceptable” and “not in line with American interests” or those of Israel itself.

That letter also emphasized the U.S.’s “responsibility” to help Israel protect itself and free the hostages.

In February, Sherrill urged Israel to implement a cease-fire during the month of Ramadan and accused Israel of obstructing aid into Gaza. The next month, she urged U.S. officials to “ensure Israel does not carry out … a full-scale invasion of Rafah,” the southern Gaza city where Israeli troops ultimately killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered an address to a joint session of Congress in July, Sherrill was among a group of Democrats that remained seated and impassive for much of the speech.

And in September, she expressed concern about the Israeli operation that injured hundreds of Hezbollah leaders using exploding pagers, criticizing Israeli leadership for not informing U.S. officials about the operation ahead of time, alleging that “there appears to have been no strategy” for the operation and questioning its effectiveness and utility.

Sherrill also accused Netanyahu of having “undermined … again and again and again” efforts to reach a cease-fire with Hamas, which the Biden administration has said Hamas has consistently rejected.

Sherrill met on Capitol Hill in late October 2023 with members of the New Jersey chapter of American Muslims for Palestine.

On the national level, the AMP’s senior leadership includes individuals who previously held senior roles at charities shuttered for supporting Hamas. The organization is the key backer of Students for Justice in Palestine groups on campuses. In Virginia, the group is under investigation for potentially providing support to terrorist organizations.

Wassim Kanaan, an AMP leader who attended that meeting, said in November that Sherrill had shown “a degree of sympathy” for Palestinians in Gaza but failed to meet the group’s expectations that she call for a cease-fire and unequivocally condemn Israel.

Sherrill has not joined progressive calls to halt or pause the delivery of U.S. aid to Israel, and has consistently supported U.S. aid to Israel, particularly for missile-defense systems including over the past year.

She has also met on multiple occasions with hostage families, and supported several resolutions and other efforts to free the hostages and condemn the Hamas attacks.

Gottheimer has led legislation and letters to the administration and international officials about the conflict — putting himself on various occasions at odds with the Biden administration.

He criticized the administration for withholding weapons from Israel, a move he said could embolden Hamas; urged the administration to more strongly enforce Iran sanctions and accused it of lax enforcement to facilitate negotiations; pressed the Senate to vote to re-designate the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, overriding the Biden administration; repeatedly urged the White House to put more pressure on Iran, Qatar and Turkey to secure the release of hostages; called for stronger crackdowns on Hezbollah’s financing; urged public condemnation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan; and supported sanctions on the International Criminal Court for seeking warrants against Israeli leaders, a move the Biden administration opposed.

Gottheimer additionally sponsored legislation seeking to claw back U.S. funding already provided to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency after revelations that some of its employees were involved in the Oct. 7 attacks. He further called for sanctions on the president of the International Court of Justice over past anti-Israel bias.

The Jewish Democrat has been vocally critical of colleagues calling for conditions or suspensions of U.S. aid to Israel, which he said would “undermine peace and strengthen Hamas’ hand.”

He has met frequently with hostage families and often raised their cause on Capitol Hill, particularly that of Edan Alexander, who grew up in Gottheimer’s district. And the New Jersey Democrat has traveled to Israel multiple times in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks.

Their voting records also contain some notable differences.

While both lawmakers voted for the final Israel aid package that passed the House last April. Gottheimer supported two previous bills — one of which paired the Israel aid with cuts to Internal Revenue Service Funding and a second that aimed to de-couple Israel aid from Ukraine and Taiwan funding — which Sherrill opposed. 

A significant majority of Democrats voted against the two earlier bills, which the Biden administration also opposed, and some Republicans later disavowed the bill linking Israel to IRS funding.

Sherrill voted against legislation overriding the administration’s hold on some U.S. aid to Israel, blocking any sanctions relief for Iran and re-freezing released Iranian funds, sanctioning the ICC and making it easier for the Treasury to revoke the non-profit status of charities providing support for terrorist groups. Gottheimer supported those bills.

Sherrill voted present on a resolution describing anti-Zionism as antisemitic, and against censuring Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) for antisemitic and anti-Israel comments, though Sherrill said she “wholeheartedly condemn[ed]” Tlaib’s comments and noted that Tlaib’s language was also used by Hamas. Gottheimer voted for both.

That said, the two have also found themselves on the same side of multiple bills that have seen significant opposition among other Democrats.

Both voted in favor of cutting off the administration’s ability to allow any financing for Iran; redesignating the Houthis as an FTO; imposing greater restrictions on U.S. and international financing for Iran; a Gottheimer-sponsored resolution declaring that the slogan “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” is antisemitic; and two bills placing greater sanctions on Iran’s oil trade (one of the two bills was sponsored by Gottheimer).

Both lawmakers also voted for widely supported legislation to sanction Iran, support Israel’s right to exist, call for the release of hostages and condemn Hamas.

Sherrill’s record has engendered skepticism and hesitation among some Jewish leaders in New Jersey, who see Gottheimer as a close ally and champion. New Jersey’s Jewish population totals more than 600,000.

One senior Jewish leader in the state told JI that Gottheimer “has been thus far very supportive and strong on antisemitism and support of Israel, as opposed to [Sherrill], who has been perceived as playing both sides of the fence.”

Another pro-Israel leader said that Gottheimer is “very well known to the Jewish community in the state” because of his record, and has been a consistent champion “on really every single issue of concern to Jewish people in New Jersey.” 

Sherrill is less well-known among Jews outside of her district because she has been less prominent and active on Jewish community issues, and has surprised and disappointed some in the community with her actions and rhetoric since Oct. 7, the pro-Israel leader said.

“They’re not really in the same league when you hold them up side-by-side,” the leader said, describing Gottheimer’s positions and record as much clearer than Sherrill’s. “Sherrill is going to have an uphill battle explaining a lot of her decisions she’s made …  outside her district.”

They also noted that the governor’s office could play an important role when it comes to Israel issues, both in providing support for the Jewish community as well as advocating on a federal level to support Alexander, the New Jersey-born hostage.

“Their views, decisions and relationship with the White House on this issue might be very helpful in securing the release of this hostage and properly assisting him when he gets home,” the leader said. “New Jersey is directly affected and our governor needs to have a good relationship with the next administration.”

A third pro-Israel leader in the state, who supported Sherrill in the past, told JI they share the view that Gottheimer is the stronger candidate on Israel and among Jewish voters. 

Alan Steinberg, a New Jersey columnist and Gottheimer supporter, described Gottheimer as “the most effective” pro-Israel House member New Jersey has ever had, arguing that Sherrill has gone “went way beyond the pale” in her criticisms of Israeli operations in Gaza.

Steinberg said he was particularly incensed by her “present” vote on the legislation describing anti-Zionism as antisemitic, calling it “the height of irresponsibility and insensitivity” and a “willful ignorance” of the ways that anti-Zionism is used as a cover for antisemitism.

But Sherrill is not without her supporters in the Jewish community.

Rabbi Marc Katz, who leads Temple Ner Tamid in her district, defended Sherrill’s vote on that resolution and her record on antisemitism and Israel, highlighting in an op-ed earlier this year that she had been highly supportive of him and his synagogue after it was firebombed last year.

“Sherrill’s record speaks for itself. There is virtually no issue around antisemitism that she hasn’t affected positively,” Katz said. “The same goes with Israel. She has worked to ensure military aid to Israel, supported tough action against Iran and its proxies, championed the Abraham Accords, and worked to withhold funds from Hamas.”

A Jewish leader in Sherril’s district who attended a commemoration at Ner Tamid after the firebombing incident said the congresswoman had tears in her eyes when she addressed the congregation. The Jewish leader also emphasized that Sherrill’s office is targeted on a near-weekly basis by anti-Israel protesters, that she’s rejected charges of genocide against Israel and has offered support for Israel’s right to exist and defend itself.

“It’s very clear to me she cares tremendously about the state of Israel,” the leader said, explaining that they had spoken about her trips to Israel and the impact they had on Sherrill. “I know where Mikie’s heart is, her heart is with the Jewish people …  Any suggestion otherwise is just nonsense, it’s just politics.“

The leader said that they also share the concerns Sherrill has expressed about the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Both Katz and the Jewish leader dismissed her vote on the anti-Zionism resolution, emphasizing that she’d supported other legislation condemning antisemitism.

Another pro-Israel leader in the state was somewhat skeptical of the role that Israel policy would ultimately play in the race, given its potentially lower salience at the state level and the multitude of other factors at play.

They said that New Jersey voters, Jews included, often tend to vote based on geography — for candidates local to their region — rather than on ideology, and noted that Sherrill has a base of Jewish support in her district. They said that most Jews in New Jersey ultimately don’t vote on Israel and Jewish issues as their top priorities.

The race, still in its very early days, also features Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, New Jersey Education Association President Sean Spiller and former Senate President Stephen Sweeney, many of whom could make plays for a variety of critical constituencies and regions of the state.

Statewide, New Jersey leaped to the right in the 2024 general election — meaning the ultimate Democratic candidate will need to appeal to a large population of moderate and swing voters — though it also has growing Arab and Muslim populations that are vocally critical of Israel, which could help boost candidates in the Democratic primary.

In their November re-election races, CAIR opposed Gottheimer but listed that it was “neutral” on Sherrill. It endorsed an opponent running on the Green Party ticket. The Muslim group, whose founder expressed support for the Oct. 7 attacks, also said it was neutral on Sen.-elect Andy Kim (D-NJ), Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) and Democratic House candidate Matthew Jenkins and endorsed Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), a long-standing Israel critic, while opposing every other Democrat running for federal office in the state.

CAIR’s New Jersey chapter justified the Oct. 7 attacks days after it occurred.

AIPAC endorsed both Gottheimer and Sherrill in their House races.

While the governor’s office may have less crossover with foreign policy than the two lawmakers’ roles in Congress, New Jersey leaders have worked aggressively to promote Israeli foreign investment in the state and other ties, and the state also has an anti-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions law in place.

That law could potentially come into play soon — New Jersey state Treasury officials recently notified a Norwegian financial services company that it may be in violation of the law and could face dis-investment by New Jersey.

Gottheimer has repeatedly led efforts in the House to advance federal anti-BDS measures. Sherrill has highlighted her opposition to BDS in the past as well.

Gottheimer’s campaign gained steam earlier this week with endorsements from eight House colleagues — all of them pro-Israel moderates — Reps. Ed Case (D-HI), Jared Golden (D-ME), Susie Lee (D-NV), Kathy Manning (D-NC), Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Tom Suozzi (D-NY) and Ritchie Torres (D-NY).