Police mentioned a person in a ski masks lit a Molotov cocktail and threw it at the front door of a synagogue round 3 a.m. Sunday in Essex County, N.J., marking the newest incident of violent antisemitic acts within the state and throughout the nation.
The suspect, who was proven in surveillance footage sporting black pants and a black hooded sweatshirt, fled down the driveway after throwing the makeshift explosive, however there was no harm to Temple Ner Tamid, a synagogue in Bloomfield, officers mentioned. State and federal authorities are investigating the incident after the synagogue workers members reported property harm.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy mentioned on Twitter that he “strongly condemn[s] these acts” and “there is no place for violence or hate in New Jersey.”
New Jersey recorded 370 antisemitic incidents final 12 months, making it the second highest quantity recorded in any state throughout the nation after New York, in line with the civil rights group that fights antisemitism, the Anti-Defamation League.
Nationwide, ADL recorded an all-time excessive of two,717 harassment, vandalism and assault towards Jewish folks and establishments in 2021, which was a 34% enhance from the prior 12 months.
“This incident comes at a moment when we have seen a spike in antisemitic incidents, including the recent threat in November to New Jersey Synagogues,” the New Jersey Area of American Jewish Committee wrote in a joint assertion. “It also took place on the heels of International Holocaust Remembrance Day when we are reminded of where such horrific actions can lead.”
Rabbi David Levy, the regional director of the New Jersey Area of American Jewish Committee, mentioned he believes folks must be proactive once they communicate out towards these crimes.
“Speaking out publicly and strongly is one of the ways we can combat the rise of this hate in our communities,” he mentioned, including that he believes that hate stems from a lack of expertise in regards to the Holocaust. (Simply half of People knew that six million Jews had been killed within the Holocaust, in line with a survey carried out by the American Jewish Committee.)
On Fb, Bloomfield Mayor Michael Venezia mentioned, “Hate and antisemitism will not be tolerated and have no place in our welcoming community. Our thoughts and prayers are with our entire Jewish community.”
New Jersey State Lawyer Matt Platkin mentioned his workplace was working carefully with state and federal regulation enforcement to determine the male suspect.
“We are cognizant of the fact that these attacks have occurred while violence continues to erupt in Israel, and while our own nation reckons with violence at home,” he wrote in an announcement on Twitter.
Platkin additionally talked about that his workplace is conscious of a “potentially bias-motivated” assault at a church in Monmouth County on Saturday, however he didn’t say if the 2 incidents had been associated.
At some point earlier than Shabbat in November, the FBI warned of a “broad threat to synagogues” in New Jersey. The FBI recognized a suspect and introduced they now not posed a hazard to the group quickly after.
“That created a sense of fear right then and there,” Levy mentioned. “We had never [before] had a public warning by the FBI that synagogues could be under threat.”