ADL asks Sarafin to step down

The Anti-Defamation League has joined other groups in denouncing the Hightstown council member.

By: Scott Morgan
   HIGHTSTOWN — The state office of the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith has joined the list of public watchdog groups asking Councilman Eugene Sarafin to step down for making bigoted comments.
   On Tuesday, Shai Goldstein, director of the ADL’s New Jersey regional office, submitted a letter to Mr. Sarafin requesting that he consider resigning his council seat for the good of the borough. The letter comes on the heels of a phone call from ADL Associate Director Sherry Kirschenbaum to Mr. Sarafin, at which time he was asked to explain his opinion that Christianity, Islam and Judaism are "three s—t religions," Mr. Goldstein said.
   Mr. Sarafin spoke these words (before he was named to council) early in 2002, some months following the Sept. 11 attacks. Mr. Sarafin said his words were directed toward what he saw as destructive behavior based on "narrow-minded" religious extremism.
   According to Mr. Goldstein, Mr. Sarafin’s explanation was that he was referring only to fundamentalist followers of those religions.
   "This is not an acceptable distinction or justification," the letter said.
   In a later series of interviews, Mr. Goldstein said Mr. Sarafin’s behavior as a public official has not exemplified that which defines a public official.
   "Whatever his intentions," Mr. Goldstein said, "his words are bigotry. And bigotry is bigotry. It is our position that Mr. Sarafin would be doing everybody a favor … by resigning."
   Mr. Sarafin responded to the call as he has responded to other calls (from citizens and from other organizations such as the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights and the Ancient Order of Hibernians) requesting his censure and resignation — by being dismissive.
   "As exalted excelsior of the Secular-Humanist Institute of Theology, it is our right as secular humanists to make any comment we want about these false religions," Mr. Sarafin said. "It is our responsibility to investigate all religions."
   The "institute" is an unofficial collection of secular humanists and not a formal body or society.
   Initially, when asked for his response to the ADL comments, Mr. Sarafin laughed.
   Mr. Goldstein doesn’t find it funny.
   "Our words are our children," Mr. Goldstein said. "We must be responsible for them. Saying ‘some Christians, some Muslim, some Jews’ … doesn’t wash."
   Mr. Sarafin responded by saying only that "religions tend to be very destructive."
   Mr. Goldstein said the ADL, for the moment, will wait on the hope that Mr. Sarafin will discover the error of his ways on his own, or that residents encourage him to leave under his own volition.