Kean posed with GOP activist accused of antisemitism and homophobia

New Jersey Rep. Tom Kean Jr. posed for a photo last summer with Ibrar Zulfiqar Bhutta, also known as Ibrar Nadeem, a GOP activist accused of homophobia and antisemitism.

Nadeem posted two photos to Facebook on August 22, 2025: one with Kean and another with then-Republican candidate for governor Jack Ciattarelli.

“Two powerful days, two powerful meetings,” Nadeem wrote. “Back-to-back, I had the honor of meeting with Congressman Tom Kean Jr., son of New Jersey’s former governor, and with Jack Ciattarelli, our future Governor of New Jersey.”

At the time, Nadeem was employed by Ciattarelli’s campaign as its executive director of Muslim relations.

Nadeem served as a Ciattarelli surrogate at an October 18 campaign event in Piscataway. In his remarks, he called for a ban on same-sex marriage and boasted about not accepting campaign donations from Jewish people.

“Somebody said you are taking money from Jews,” Nadeem said. “I check my bank account every day, brother. It is not there.”

Several New Jersey officials criticized Nadeem’s remarks and called on Ciattarelli to fire him.

“I don’t know the heart of this man who is speaking, but with his comments, he’s either speaking against Jews himself or to others in the room who are clearly antisemitic,” Livingston Deputy Mayor Shawn Klein told NJ.com after the incident.

Kean did not issue a condemnation and continued to support Ciattarelli’s bid.

Kean’s continued silence risks undermining his many pledges to fight antisemitism, an issue he brings up frequently in Congress and on the campaign trail.

“At a time when antisemitic hate has reached alarming levels, I am pleased to stand with the Jewish community in the U.S. and around the world in calling out this evil,” Kean wrote on social media in September.

Nadeem reposted the photo with Kean on Jan. 14. Also in the photo was a man Nadeem identified as “Uncle Ashraf,” a local pharmacist and business owner.

“Uncle Ashraf has built a legacy through service and sincerity,” Nadeem wrote. “It was a true honor to stand beside him and Congressman Kean Jr. in my office.”

Kean voted against marriage equality for New Jerseyans as a state senator in 2010 and 2012. He now says he supports same-sex unions.

Kean is running for a third term in the House this year.