Former New Jersey state Rep. Jack Ciattarelli, the Garden State’s Republican nominee for governor, will travel to Israel on Sunday for his first visit during the campaign, his campaign revealed to Jewish Insider.

Ciattarelli is running against Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) in the race to succeed New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, who is term-limited. He was New Jersey’s GOP gubernatorial nominee in 2021 against Murphy, narrowly losing to the sitting governor.

Speaking to JI in an interview ahead of his trip, the New Jersey Republican said he expects to have “five very, very productive days in Israel.” 

Ciattarelli said that the goal of the visit was to find opportunities for economic investment in New Jersey from leading Israeli companies in the technology and medical sectors and to show his solidarity with the Garden State’s Jewish community.

New Jersey has the second-largest Jewish population in the country.

“One of my objectives as governor is to grow our economy, and one of the ways that we achieve that objective is by forging a closer economic relationship with a number of nations, one of which is certainly Israel. They have technology companies, medical device companies, pharmaceutical companies, and a number of other industries that are looking to expand internationally. And when they do, we certainly want them to do that in New Jersey,” Ciattarelli said.

Ciattarelli added that the trip, his second time visiting the Jewish state, “also has great significance for New Jersey’s Jewish community,” because it signifies his commitment to a strong U.S.-Israel relationship.

“I’ve always been a big supporter of Israel. And as we know, antisemitism is at an all-time high in New Jersey, across the nation and the globe. As governor, antisemitism will not be tolerated. And so again, by going to Israel, we demonstrate a very close relationship between New Jersey and this very important ally in the Middle East and, of course, in the world,” he explained.

Ciattarelli previously traveled to the Jewish state during his 2021 gubernatorial run, one month before the general election. The trip, which Ciattarelli described to JI at the time as a “life-changing experience,” was his first visit to Israel. 

“My goal was to let civic leaders, business leaders and religious leaders know that Israel will have a strong ally in New Jersey when I’m governor. From an economic development perspective, Israel does more than $14 billion a year in bilateral trade with New York. It does only $1 billion with New Jersey. That shouldn’t be the case,” Ciattarelli said after his 2021 visit.

“So I made clear during my trip and meeting with all leaders, that New Jersey is going to strengthen its cultural, religious and economic ties with the State of Israel. And we will stand with her in defending its people,” he continued. 

He again mentioned the trade deficit while speaking to JI on Friday about his upcoming visit. 

“Israel does $14 billion a year in bilateral trade with New York, less than $2 billion a year with New Jersey. There’s nothing New York has that New Jersey doesn’t. So we want to make sure that Israeli companies, when they invest in the United States, they do so right in New Jersey,” Ciattarelli said.