Synagogues Hold On to Hope Amidst Hatred

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Congregation B’nai Israel in Rumson was under increased police protection after threats against synagogues and the Jewish community emerged earlier this month. Stephen Appezzato

By Sunayana Prabhu

Synagogues across New Jersey were put on high alert by the FBI earlier this month after they received “credible information of a broad threat,” according to a tweet from the agency’s Newark office. Although the threat was quickly mitigated by government and law enforcement agencies, in the face of rising antisemitism, Jewish leadership across the country, including in the Two River area, resolved to stay vigilant and gather for worship even if it is under increased police patrols.

On Nov. 1, the FBI discovered a manifesto on the internet containing threats against synagogues and Jewish people posted by 18-year-old Sayreville resident Omar Alkattoul. U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced Alkattoul’s arrest Nov. 10.

While Jewish congregations are grateful for Gov. Phil Murphy’s immediate call for a collaborative network of more than 500 high-ranking government officials, law enforcement agencies and Jewish congregations to mitigate the danger, Jewish houses of worship are “well aware that we live in a world where somebody might choose to do something wrong to us and we’ve been vigilant for many years about this,” Gabrielle Clissold, cantor for Monmouth Reform Temple in Tinton Falls, told The Two River Times. She said the temple has been wary not for a day, but for years, ever since the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting Oct. 27, 2018, in Pittsburgh struck the community like a “a sad wake-up call.”

“But we need to gather,” she said.

“A temple, church or a synagogue needs to physically gather to do better.”

Murphy acknowledged the FBI, as well as state law enforcement partners, including the attorney general’s office, the state police, and the Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, for resolving the immediate threat to Jewish synagogues. “While this specific threat may be mitigated, we know this remains a tense time for our Jewish communities who are facing a wave of anti-Semitic activity,” he said in a statement. “We will not be indifferent. We will remain vigilant. We will take any and every threat with the utmost seriousness and we will stand up and stand shoulder to shoulder with our Jewish congregations.”

When the threat emerged, Rabbi Shmaya Galperin at Chabad Jewish Center of Holmdel was inundated with messages to stay safe. “A lot of people sent me messages on social media and text messages on my cellphone,” Galperin said. “Most of the concern was for us to be aware of it, to really take action right away, to step up protection. Unfortunately, this is the reality we live in.”

Local police presence at Congregation B’nai Israel (CBI) in Rumson helped during the most recent threat, said Rabbi Doug Sagal. But he noted it is not an isolated incident and should be viewed “in the context of unprecedented levels of racism, intolerance and bigotry. This is an incident that is one of many incidents that are occurring every day throughout our country,” Sagal said. 

In 2021, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) tabulated 2,717 antisemitic incidents across the United States. According to data published on its website, this represents a 34% increase from the 2,026 incidents recorded in 2020 and is the highest number on record since ADL began tracking antisemitic incidents in 1979.

Although the threat was quickly mitigated and the suspect arrested, synagogues continue to stay vigilant in a climate of increased antisemitism. Stephen Appezzato

The FBI’s rapid response to threats and the emergence of threat assessment agencies as an industry are a direct result of an overall rise in racially motivated attacks and murders, including the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, the deadliest attack on Jewish people on U.S. soil; the 2019 mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, against Latinos; and the massacre at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket in May that left 10 Black people dead and more injured.

The threat this month surfaced amidst continuing reports of anti-Jewish bigotry across the country in public and social media spaces. Last month, rapper Kanye West’s Twitter account was locked over his antisemitic remarks and major sponsors and marketing partners cut ties with him; in the wake of West’s tweets and other statements, a group of demonstrators stood on a highway overpass in Los Angeles in broad daylight and raised their arms in a Nazi salute.

Even before those incidents, hatred has seemed to go mainstream and been given “license to flourish over these last couple of years,” said Sagal. Citing the white supremist rallies in 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia, he said, “We have seen, unfortunately, either explicit or implicit permission given for expressions of hatred and bigotry,” which is why, “again and again, the Jewish community is experiencing a level of antisemitism that is unprecedented in this nation’s history.”

But the Jewish community is not the only one experiencing this kind of heightened bigotry, he noted. Anyone with a hyphenated identity, “the Asian-American community, the African-American community, the Muslim-American community, all are experiencing unprecedented levels of bigotry and intolerance,” Sagal said.

To navigate the increasing antisemitism at the ground-level so people can congregate, to worship, celebrate, educate themselves on their own cultural identities, Sagal suggests practicing more than just resiliency. “Resilience is a very good word,” he said, “but we also need to be determined that we’re not going to allow bigotry, racism and antisemitism to rule the day.”

Galperin said he trusts in education and the vigilance of ordinary people to save lives. One way to curb antisemitism, he said, is by learning about the Jewish way of life and culture.

“Education is key and, of course, getting people the right mental health help is also very important.” Reiterating the Department of Homeland Security’s national campaign phrase, Galperin said everyone needs to stay alert and “when you see something, say something – no matter how trivial you think it is.”

One way to stand up to the wave of antisemitism is by “refusing to be cowed into not practicing our faith,” Sagal said. “We’re living in a time where, unfortunately, the worst elements of our society have been given permission to act out their bigotry and hatred, and so it is the responsibility of decent and ethical American citizens to stand up to the threat no matter whom it is directed against.”

Clissold, cantor at Monmouth Reform Temple, reiterated the message enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.

“We are not going to let threats and terrorists get in the way of our right to religious expression,” she asserted.

The article originally appeared in the November 17 – 23, 2022 print edition of The Two River Times.