In response to an incident last weekend at a South Orange temple, Livingston Police Chief Gary Marshuetz placed extra watches on all township houses of worship in the following days. He did this, he said, as a precaution.
“We work very closely with our neighboring communities - such as South Orange, Millbum, and West Orange - so we can be aware of when incidents occur andrespondquickly.”
The incident occurred on Sunday, January 26, at Oheb Shalom in South Orange.
“This morning a group of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered on the sidewalk outside of Oheb Shalom, their visit timed with our Israel Today Committee’s program then underway. A graffiti message was written on the ground, and a caring neighbor came by to wash it away (Continued on Page A-6) (Continued from Page A-1) after the protesters left,” explained Oheb Shalom Rabbi Abigail Treu in a blog post on the temple’s website.
Security at Temples
The South Orange Police Department and Essex County prosecutor’s office are investigating the incident, and at no point was anyone in danger. The Israel Today program was uninterrupted.
Additional portions of Rabbi Treu’s post, giving more context to the incident, may be read below: “As in all things, we are a diverse community. We do not insist that we all keep kosher the same way or have identical prayer lives or ways of celebrating Shabbat and holidays. So too we do not require a set of beliefs around Israel, domestic politics, or any other issue. Since October 7 we have offered an array of programs that seek to reflect the diversity of the Oheb community in how we hold our connections to Israel. We have held Listening Circles to hear from each other, heard from West Bank Palestinians and Israeli settlers speaking together on our bimah, and we pray daily for Israel and for peace.
“The program this morning featured an elite rescue unit of the Israel Defense Force, whose sole mission is search and rescue. This unit has saved the lives of people in Israel and around the world, including from natural disasters in countries such as Turkey and Haiti. Ironically, as protesters outside were calling those driving past ‘baby killers,’ those attending the program were hearing firsthand accounts of infants and children rescued around the world – including civilians in Gaza during this war.
“In February, we will gather for a discussion of ‘Strangers in the House’by Raja Shehadeh. I write this because we get ourselves worked up, we walk around feeling – some of us, sometimes – that the ‘other side’ has some sort of hegemony at Oheb. And I want to keep stating, over and over again, that we are committed to the Jewish people and to holding our diverse community with safety and curiosity, with calm and respect, and, of course, with security and safety. There is room for lots of questions, grappling, ideas and opinions.
“However, there are limits to even the widest of tents. People who stand outside our building, calling us terrorists, making us feel threatened or on the defensive as we undertake the peaceful work of joining in local community, do not have a place here. Not at Oheb, and I know not at our neighboring synagogue partners, either. Our tent is a large one, but it has walls.”
