Joshua Sotomayor-Einstein released the following statement:

I would like to personally thank Jose Arango for his hilarious June 17^th attempt at a hit piece targeting myself written by, and published on the website of an aspiring podcaster, David Winkler.  I would also like to personally thank Mr. Winkler for serving in the armed forces, of which he inexplicably writes about in the first paragraph of the attack piece as though it gives the content validity. While he is comically wrong in every accusation he makes, Winkler has earned the title of hero for serving our country.

The core of Arango’s attack piece is the allegation that I am anti-Semitic as well as the bonus implication that I am anti-Islamic. Multiple pictures of my engagement with my community – the Jewish community – are below this piece. I’m sure the Jewish youth group I grew up in, the Kotel (Western Wall of the Temple Mount) where I had my Bar Mitzvah, multiple Jewish organizations I have had a leadership role in, the Jewish newspaper I write a regular column for, and the other Jewish websites and papers I have written op-eds in will be as bemused as I was to learn of my alleged anti-Semitism. As for the attempt at implying I am anti-Islamic, Winkler fails to provide any quotes or evidence because there are none and because I am not.

The unintentionally hysterical hit piece is not in actuality about any of the verifiably false accusations contained in it. Rather it is a paltry response to a press release I authored on insidernj.com condemning Hudson County Republican Chairman Jose Arango for joining the left-wing choir demanding Michael Alonso, possibly the only elected GOP official in Hudson County, resign from the Bayonne BOE. Alonso’s crime was that he posted on social media that black votes, rather than black lives, matter to Democrats and that he expressed concern over the potential for rioting in Bayonne, the city he serves as a volunteer BOE member. Arango called Alonso’s statements “racially charged” despite the facts that rioters (like those just across the river and in cities across the country) come in all colors and that many in the black community believe the Democrats take them for granted.

Winkler has only been involved in Hudson County since 2019, so he can be forgiven for stating that he “quickly saw how tough the job was for [Hudson County] GOP Chairman Jose Arango,” as if Arango had not been county Republican Chairman for almost two decades. The fact is that there has been nothing quick about Arango’s never ending attacks on grassroots Republicans attempting to engage in activism; nor has there has been anything fast about Arango’s efforts to destroy all opposition to the machine Democrats which rule Hudson County and for whom he works. Counterfactually, if we pretend that Arango does not work for the Democrats, he has had almost 2 decades at the helm and has repeatedly failed to grow the party and get Republicans elected.

In addition to using Google to see my commitment to Jewish life as well a piece I penned condemning actual anti-Semitism in our county by an elected Democrat official (a topic which Arango remained silent on); Winkler could and should have googled Kamei Harris. While he states, “we have a Black Chairwoman Kamei Harris,” what he meant to say is that Ms. Harris is the Chair of the Hudson County Federation of Republican Women, not to imply she was the County GOP Chair. I should know, back when Arango would not give Harris the time of day, myself and other real Republican grassroots activists helped her organize events and wrote the press releases that earned her free media such as at Ridgewood Blog and NJ.com (that’s me in the pictures).

Moreover, from writing in the past for SaveJersey.com to representing Republican views in an op-ed published in the Record; op-eds, letters, and quotes in articles at nj.com and Hudson County View and more; I have reached and helped other Republicans, conservatives, and libertarians reach tens of thousands of people. I know how to articulate the GOP point of view in defense of our freedoms and on issues ranging from eminent domain abuse to the always tax increasing agenda of Democrats (such as those whom Arango works for); from how to build our party to why it is important to keep the Katyn Statute in Jersey City, and more. I invite Winkler to explore the links and contact me for any advice he needs writing opinion pieces in the future. I bear him no ill will for stumbling into the trap, like so many political neophytes do, of falling in with those who talk a good game but have a long history of abject failure. Winkler, and anyone else who wants help engaging in grassroots conservative and liberty Republican activism, feel free to call me (201-926-6810).