PISCATAWAY - At a Muslims4Jack "meet and greet" a few days ago, Jack Ciattarelli was introduced by Dr. Ibrar Nadeem, a campaign staffer. No surprise there.

Nadeem, referring to the Muslim community, said they want "a ban on same sex marriage."

A few seconds later, Nadeem wandered into more dangerous territory. He said people are telling him that Ciattarelli is "taking money from Jews" but that is not the case.

A clip of the event shows Ciattarelli saying that Nadeem is a man who certainly speaks his mind.

Not surprisingly, Mikie Sherrill's campaign has jumped on the comments. Here's a relevant social media post:

"A member of Jack's 'inner circle' was caught on video spreading antisemitic and homophobic hate. Rather than condemn that language, Jack praised him. This kind of behavior has no place in New Jersey."

Ciattarelli, of course, is not the first candidate - nor will he be the last - to be blindsided by one of his supporters.

And he is firing back.

Here is what Ciattarelli said Monday night on social media:

"Do you ever get tired of lying @MikieSherrill?  You know I support same sex marriage. You also know the full clip of Dr. Nadeem’s remarks are clear: He was talking about the grief he gets from some BECAUSE of my unwavering support for the Jewish community and Israel and his own efforts to build bridges between Muslim and non-Muslim communities.

Your desperate lies will backfire. NJ’s Jewish community doesn’t need lectures from Mamdani supporters like you who didn’t even have the moral courage to stand with Israel. Shame on you for, once again, trying to divide people more with lies."

Continuing on the faith front, Ciattarelli is expected to be endorsed by the Lakewood Vaad, which is very influential in the orthodox Jewish community. That according to the Lakewood Scoop, a local news site.

The Vaad endorsed Phil Murphy in 2021.

This endorsement often means a lot of votes, but it is hardly an end all. Despite the endorsement of Murphy four years ago, Ciattarelli carried Lakewood.