Swastikas were spray-painted on Congregation Beth-El in Edison just hours after the end of Yom Kippur.
Photo courtesy Yeshivat Netivot Montessori
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September 30, 2009
Little more than a week after an Edison yeshiva student was jumped in a Rosh Hashana attack, a township synagogue was plastered with swastikas just hours after the end of Yom Kippur.
The three swastikas were spray-painted in blue on Congregation Beth-El. The three-foot by three-foot Nazi insignias went across two glass front doors and nearby masonry.
The Conservative synagogue is headed by Rabbi Bernhard Rosenberg, who had contacted NJJN and other media to make the attack on the 19-year-old yeshiva student public.
“I am a target because I speak out,” said Rosenberg. “I’m very happy with the Edison Police Department, but I think the Jewish community has been asleep at the switch. There have been other incidents, and my message to the community is ‘wake up.’ This incident is not isolated.”
Rosenberg, the son of Holocaust survivors, said he has contacted federal and state officials about getting Homeland Security money to protect his synagogue. Five years ago, he and his wife were attacked by teens throwing eggs as they walked both to and from Shabbat services.
A 17-year-old male, whose name is being withheld because of his age, was arrested Sept. 29 and charged with juvenile delinquency in the harassment of three Highland Park residents as they walked home from synagogue on Yom Kippur evening.
The teenager, a Somerset County resident, leaned out of a sports utility vehicle while stopped for a red light on Raritan Avenue and Fourth Street at 8:45 p.m., gave the Nazi salute, and yelled “Heil Hitler,” according to an investigation by Det. Nicole Young of the Highland Park Police Department.
The swastikas were discovered by staff at Yeshivat Netivot Montessori, a kindergarten-fourth grade Orthodox day school that uses Beth-El’s building, when they arrived to open the synagogue. The swastikas were covered by paper around the starting time of class to shield the students. Rosenberg said on Sept. 29 that the paper would be removed later that day before the start of the synagogue’s religious school.
“One of my teachers found it early this morning,” said Netivot head of school Rivky Ross, as she fielded telephone calls from concerned parents. “It’s just terribly, terribly sad and upsetting to see that in this age people can still feel that kind of hatred.”
The Anti-Defamation League offered a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrators.
“The Anti-Defamation League shares Congregation Beth-El’s shock and indignation over this despicable act, which occurred only hours following Yom Kippur, the most solemn day of the Jewish calendar,” said Etzion Neuer, director of the New Jersey ADL office.
“We know that the Edison Police Department and Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office will conduct a thorough bias crime investigation, and we urge anyone with information relevant to the case to contact the Edison Police Department.”
In the first incident, a 19-year-old student at Rabbi Jacob Joseph Yeshiva sustained a concussion and a gash above his eye after allegedly being taunted with anti-Semitic slurs and jumped by a group of teens on the evening of Sept. 19 as he walked along Woodbridge Avenue.
The incident has been referred to the state Attorney General’s office for investigation as a bias incident. Arrested was a 16-year-old Edison juvenile who has been charged with aggravated assault, according to Lt. Joseph Shannon. The suspect’s name is not being released because of his age.
Shannon said the Beth-El incident occurred between 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 28 and 7:30 a.m. on the 29th. Police responded immediately and began canvassing the neighborhood door-to-door for possible witnesses. The incident has been ruled a bias crime, which has brought the prosecutor’s office into the investigation.
Shannon said it has been the department’s policy to increase patrols around Jewish institutions during the holiday season. However, in light of the two incidents, those patrols would be increased for the foreseeable future. In addition to Beth-El and the yeshiva, the township is home to three other synagogues, the Jewish Community Center of Middlesex County, and Rabbi Pesach Raymon Yeshiva, a modern Orthodox day school for kindergarten through eighth-grade students.
“We want everyone to know the police department is taking this very seriously,” said Shannon. “We want all our residents to feel safe when they attend religious services or go to school.”
Those with any information about the swastika incident should call the Edison Police Detective Bureau at 732-248-7540.
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Rabbi Dr. Bernhard Rosenberg
October 01, 2009
a special thanks to all my colleagues who called and E mailed and to Federation and and the ADL for their support. The swastikas were removed from the door windows before the start of Hebrew school. Rabbi Dr. Bernhard Rosenberg P.S. If you see any signs of anti-Semitism or have any leads call the Edison Police Department.
Rabbi Dr. Bernhard Rosenberg Congregation Beth
October 02, 2009
If you have teenagers in any of the Edison High Schools who hear any teenagers talking about putting, on Swastikas at the synagogue, please have them contact me or the Edison police juvenile division . There is a $1000 reward.
MrIndia
October 12, 2009
These teens should be tried as adults. What is this nonsense about not releasing their names because of their age ? Release their names. Shame them and their families before the world and stop mollycodling these bastards.
Rabbi Dr. Bernhard Rosenberg
October 18, 2009
As the spiritual leader of Congregation Beth El in Edison, I am asking support from those who would like to help us purchase the security equipment we need to prevent such incidents from happening in the future. Please send donations to Congregation Beth El 91 Jefferson Blvd. attention Rabbi Rosenberg Edison N.J. 08817. We would greatly appreciate your assistance.