New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy found himself amid a heated confrontation during Lunar New Year celebrations at the Governor’s Mansion in Princeton.
During the celebration, two activists confronted the New Jersey Governor and his wife, US Senate candidate Tammy Murphy, about the barbaric Israeli retaliation against the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack.
Since the terrorist strike claimed nearly 1,200 Israeli lives, Israeli military forces have killed more than 12,000 innocent Palestinian children.
Murphy was dumbstruck when members of the group American Muslims for Palestine confronted him and first lady to demand that Murphy immediately disband the New Jersey-Israeli State Commission, which was established in 1989 by then-Gov. Thomas Kean to strengthen economic, cultural and educational ties between the countries.
“You are funneling genocidal money into our state just to use my community as a tool for genocide to get diversity points for y’all campaign as Rafah was bombed last night is insane,” one woman says in an edited video posted to the group’s Instagram account.
The next clip shows the woman speaking directly to Murphy about the bombing and her demand about the commission.
“We’re not going to do that,” Murphy told the woman with a stupid look on his face. “Do you want a picture or not?”
The protester also confronted Tammy Murphy. “Tammy Murphy, you’re running for senate and you don’t care about Palestinians in New Jersey,” the woman said.
A social media post accused the first lady of trying to seize the phones used to record the confrontation but that was not shown in the video.
The event took an unexpected turn when two protesters infiltrated the private party, seizing the opportunity to confront Murphy about the state’s relationship with Israel.
The protesters, purportedly representing American Muslims for Palestine, demanded the dissolution of the New Jersey-Israeli State Commission, citing concerns over Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.
Angered by the interruption of his event, the multimillionaire governor vented his frustrations in a text message to his staffers, expressing his fury over the breach of security.
In a text to staffers after the protest, Murphy said that the incident made him ‘white hot mad’ and he was “absolutely furious” the two women were able to approach him and First Lady Tammy Murphy — who is running for U.S. Senate” at the event in Drumthwacket.
A copy of the message was sent to a news reporter.
Video footage posted by the advocacy group on Instagram captured the tense exchange between the activists and Governor Murphy. In the video, one of the protesters can be heard urging the governor to take action against the commission, to which Murphy firmly responded, “We’re not going to do that.”
“Thank you to everyone who made this possible – from the performances to the food, I truly can’t imagine a better way to bring in the Year of the Dragon,” said Tammy Murphy, who refused to address the situation in Gaza or the protest aimed at her husband.
Despite the commotion, no injuries were reported, and law enforcement did not make any arrests. Security promptly escorted the protesters out of the mansion premises.
In a moment of oversight, Murphy inadvertently included an nj.com reporter in a text message lambasting his staff for the security breach. The incident left Murphy visibly agitated, describing himself as “white hot mad” over the lapse in event security.
The Governor’s office has announced plans to review and potentially revise their event protocols in light of the incident, emphasizing the importance of ensuring the safety and privacy of future gatherings at Drumthwacket.
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