THE BRONX (PIX11) — Leaders from New York and New Jersey’s Anti-Defamation League will team up Monday with New York Rep. Ritchie Torres to shine a light on the scourge of antisemitism, in the wake of a Molotov cocktail attack on a New Jersey synagogue.
Torres, a Democrat representing the Bronx in Congress, will address the nationwide issue while affirming his support for the Jewish community in a Monday morning event at his home borough’s Riverdale Y.
The show of support comes one day after a man hurled a Molotov cocktail at the front door of Temple Ner Tamid in Bloomfield, N.J., according to authorities. The glass bottle broke, but didn’t cause any damage to the house of worship in the 3:30 a.m. attack, officials said.
Local police have opened an attempted arson and bias incident case, which they’re probing with the aid of Essex County prosecutors, the FBI, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Investigators released surveillance images of the suspect, who fled on foot.
The botched arson unfolded at a time of troubling antisemitism across the nation. According to a report issued earlier this month by the Anti-Defamation League’s Center for Antisemitism Research, 85% of Americans believe at least one anti-Jewish trope, an increase of 24% from 2019.
And in December 2022, the NYPD tallied 11 hate crimes motivated by anti-Jewish bias citywide, nearly triple the amount of any other targeted group, department statistics show.
