Council denounces anti-Semitic public comment after resident’s flag objections at Pure Village

A speaker at the Long Branch City Council public-comment period on Sept. 24 used the meeting time to criticize Israeli flags flown at Pure Village and made statements that the council described as biased hate speech. Jeff Walstein, who said he grew up in Long Branch and now lives in Tinton Falls, told the council he objected to six Israeli flags and one American flag flown at Pure Village and said he believed the flags should reflect the United States. His remarks in the public record included assertions about modern Israelis’ ancestry and references to biblical passages; he also made claims tying the Rothschild family to the modern state of Israel and used pejorative language about Jewish people. After the speaker concluded, a councilmember responded from the dais, noting the police department had expressed concern about the speaker’s conduct and that the speaker had left what the councilmember described as a “disgusting voicemail” and had been rude to staff. The councilmember said the remarks “can only be categorized as biased hate speech” and added, “there’s no place in our community for hate speech of any kind.” The councilmember said the council “denounced this in the strongest, possible terms” and affirmed the city’s commitment to a “diverse and welcoming” community. No council action (for example, removal of flags or an enforcement action) was taken at the meeting. The comments and the council’s denunciation occurred during the public comment portion of the Sept. 24 meeting; the city noted police concern about the speaker’s prior behavior but did not announce any charges or formal proceedings on the record.