Celebrity Rabbi, Clinton-backed Congressman to Debate in Tenafly

Two candidates vying for the redrawn 9th congressional district will meet in their first debate Sunday at a Tenafly temple.

Englewood Republican Rabbi Shumley Boteach, the author of “Kosher Sex” and former spiritual advisor to Michael Jackson, is challenging incumbent Democrat Bill Pascrell. Boteach has called for marriage counseling to be made tax deductible and is supported by casino magnate Sheldon Adelson.

Pascrell, who was endorsed by former President Bill Clinton, beat fellow Democrat Steve Rothman in a bitter primary battle for the redrawn district. A former Paterson mayor, Pascrell was first elected to congress in 1996.

Sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey Jewish Community Relations Council and The Jewish Standard of Teaneck, the debate will run from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Temple Sinai of Bergen County, One Engle Street.