Police in Bloomfield, NJ are looking for the suspect who threw a Molotov cocktail at the entrance of a synagogue early Sunday morning. Surveillance video shows him wearing a ski mask and a skull and crossbones top.
Bloomfield Division of Public Safety/Screenshot by NPR
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Bloomfield Division of Public Safety/Screenshot by NPR
Police in Bloomfield, NJ are looking for the suspect who threw a Molotov cocktail at the entrance of a synagogue early Sunday morning. Surveillance video shows him wearing a ski mask and a skull and crossbones top.
Bloomfield Division of Public Safety/Screenshot by NPR
Authorities are looking for the suspect who threw a Molotov cocktail at a New Jersey synagogue this weekend, an incident that caused no damage but still upset the community.
Surveillance footage shows a man lighting a bottle wick and throwing it at the front door of Temple Ner Tamid just after 3:19 a.m. Sunday morning, Bloomfield Police Department he said in a statement. He is believed to be white and is seen wearing a ski mask and a skull and crossbones sweatshirt.
“The glass bottle was broken but did not cause any damage to the Temple,” she added. “The suspect then fled down the highway.”
Authorities responded to the synagogue’s report of property damage later that morning, around 9:30 a.m. On Monday, they issued video of the incident from multiple angles showing the man lighting and lighting the bottle at the entrance of the synagogue – it bounced on the floor and shattered – before running away.
Bloomfield detectives say a joint investigation is underway with the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and is they ask anyone with knowledge of the incident to call with information or email them any videos.
The incident — just one in a series of recent anti-Semitic threats — drew ire from state leaders and left the local Jewish community on edge.
Elsewhere in the county, Livingston Police said on Sunday morning they had increased the patrol of their temples as a result of the attack, while Temple Ner Tamid will have a greater police presence during the week.
Rabbi Marc Katz of the synagogue said in a statement reported by CNN that “everything worked as it should.” The shatterproof doors held up and its cameras captured everything, and the synagogue will continue to do everything it can to keep its community safe, he added.
“But what I can’t do, is to convince our community not to lose heart,” continued Katz. “There is hate everywhere, and hate wins when we let it penetrate. When the weight of this becomes too much, I remind my congregation that every day, despite what is happening, in Jewish communities around the world, the babies their names, children are educated, people are married… No act of hatred can stop the power of religious freedom”.
It’s just the latest threat to a New Jersey synagogue
Sunday’s attack comes as anti-Semitic attacks and harassment continue to rise steadily in the United States — and after other threats to synagogues in the state.
In November, the FBI issued a statement warning of a “broad” threat to New Jersey synagogues and urging them to take greater precautions. An 18-year-old was later charged with transmitting a threat in interstate and foreign commerce.
the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) documented 370 antisemitic incidents in New Jersey in 2021, which it said was the highest number ever recorded in the state and the second highest number recorded in any state that year.
Several Jewish groups — including the ADL, the American Jewish Committee and chapters of the Jewish Federation — noted in joint statement that Sunday’s attack also happened days after International Holocaust Remembrance Day, “when we remember where such horrific actions can lead.”
“We encourage our community leaders and partners to speak out against this outrageous act and ask that all communities remain vigilant, although we have not been informed of any additional threats specific to Jewish institutions in New Jersey at this time. time,” they added.
Officials are indeed talking. Bloomfield Mayor Michael Venezia said in a statement that “hate and antisemitism … have no place in our welcoming community,” while US Representative Mikie Sherrill called the people let’s work together to eradicate the rising antisemitism.
“Our Jewish neighbors are beloved community members — friends, loved ones and leaders,” she wrote. “The attacks against them are attacks against all of us, and we all have a responsibility to stand up against [antisemitism] wherever he raises his head.”
Another incident in a church is also being investigated
Authorities are also looking into an unrelated incident at a church about 60 miles away, in Asbury Park, NJ
the The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office said is working with other agencies to investigate a “possible bias-motivated incident” that occurred at Trinity Episcopal Church during an anti-racism event Friday night.
Asbury Park Police notified the prosecutor’s office “based on the nature of the allegations,” she said, adding only that there were no known or confirmed civilian injuries.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy he tweeted on Sunday who had been informed about the two incidents, and condemned the acts and declared that “there is no place for violence or hatred in New Jersey.”
Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin noted in a statement that the two attacks occurred “while violence continues to explode in Israel, and while our own nation considers violence at home” – a reference to widespread outrage over the killing of Tire Nichols by the a policeman Platkin added:
“I want to assure all the people of New Jersey — especially our friends and neighbors of the Black community and the Jewish faith — that law enforcement will continue to take the appropriate steps to increase our presence around sensitive places so that everyone in our state can worship, love and live without fear of violence or threat”.
