middle school contribution: Bloomfield NJ Temple “Bombed”

By Leela Altabef ‘29
     On Sunday, January 29 around 3 am, an antisemitic act of vandalism was committed at Temple Ner Tamid in Bloomfield, New Jersey. 

On January 29, someone threw a Molotov Cocktail at Temple Ner Tamid in Bloomfield, New Jersey.  
According to the temple video surveillance, a man approached the glass double door at approximately 3:00 a.m. and threw the makeshift bomb. There was no damage to the building and no one was harmed. 
A Molotov cocktail is a breakable bottle filled with a flammable liquid that is set on fire and thrown.
Nicholas Malindretos, 26, a Clifton citizen, has been arrested for the crime. 
     GOA’s student life coordinator Mr. Fox, a Temple Ner Tamid member, was relieved to learn that the perpetrator was found and that the incident seems to be isolated. 
Mr. Fox said knowing the man was found, "makes me more comfortable being in the synagogue and sending my children there." 
He also attended an interfaith rally against hate at the temple on Thursday night, which he said was "uplifting and powerful" and "celebrated diversity," which counteracted some of the sadness he felt. 
     After Sunday morning's event, Ner Tamid Rabbi Marc Katz encouraged his congregants to keep hope and faith alive, even if they are scared. 
 In an email to his congregation, Rabbi Katz asked temple members, "to remember that every day, despite what is happening, babies are named, children learn to read their aleph-bet, teens are called to the Torah as B’nei Mitzvah, and wedding couples seal their love under the chuppah." 
Though Antisemitism is on the rise,  Jewish people continue to show up to mark the important events of their lives, as they have done for centuries. 
     This is not the only recent incident of anti-Semitism in Essex county. Temple Sholom in Cedar Grove and Temple B’Nai Shalom in West Orange also were vandalized in recent years.