Early Sunday morning, a person in a ski mask threw a Molotov cocktail at the front door of Temple Ner Tamid in Bloomfield, in what was ultimately a failed arson attempt. We are relieved that there was no physical harm to people or property. Yet, there is undoubtedly untold emotional damage as a result of the crime.
As the synagogue’s rabbi, Marc Katz, said, while everything worked as it should in regard to security, that cannot protect the Jewish community from growing despondent about the hate some feel for them.
Don Ben-Shimon, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ, noted that the incident occurred “amidst a climate of intimidation and intolerance, and a rising tide of anti-Jewish hate crimes and hate speech against Jews.”
Somehow, terribly, this is not the only major anti-Semitic event that has affected Livingston in the past few weeks. New court filings revealed earlier this week that the man charged with stealing a Livingston Public Schools bus left behind a journal filled with hateful and violent rhetoric against Jews, police, and white people. Thankfully, that man is now in custody and will answer for his crimes. But these instances are hitting closer to home, becoming more extreme, and occurring with greater frequency.
These are frightening and deeply upsetting times. We are sorry that the Jewish community must fear for its safety, and also for the emotional toll these hate-fueled crimes cause. Both of these situations could have turned out much worse. They are certainly an unwelcome reminder that we all must continue to keep our collective guard up and continue the fight against anti-Semitism, and discrimination in all its forms.
Sadly, we have written similar editorials in the past, the latest one as recently as last November, following anti-Semetic rhetoric from celebrities Kanye West and Kyrie Irving (a West Orange native). There have also been hateful words and drawings found in our schools. And this is not the first New Jersey synagogue to be targeted recently. There has been a troubling rise in anti-Semitic statements and activities globally, nationally, and locally in recent years, picking up in the last few months. Our community gathered in the fall to discuss this issue; we said at the time that we believed that our police department and school officials were taking the matter very seriously. We still believe that to be the case, though we continue to worry that precautions they take are not enough on their own to stop more hate-related incidents from occurring in the future.
We also feel compelled to state what we hope is obvious,that the Tribune condemns anti-Semitism in all its forms, and stands with Livingston’s Jewish community. We hope a day will come when such statements are no longer necessary, but it is clear we are not yet at that point.
