Cherry Hill Officials Condemn Antisemitism Following Synagogue Threat

CHERRY HILL, NJ — Officials in the township condemned antisemitic attitudes after a reported threat to New Jersey synagogues had the Jewish community on high alert Thursday and Friday.

Cherry Hill Police were among the law enforcement agencies across New Jersey working to protect local synagogues and schools, following the threat reported by the FBI. The news came amid growing concerns of antisemitism rising throughout New Jersey and the nation.

A suspect was arrested Friday in Monmouth County, according to the Borough of Interlaken Police Department. Officials haven't publicly identified the suspect or announced charges as of 10:30 a.m. Friday.

Police Chief Robert Kempf told Patch that the department "heavily increased" patrols through Jewish religious institutions, and officers were at schools Friday morning to monitor drop-off.

"We were never lead to believe it was a specific threat here," said Kempf.

Kempf said the department has a relationship with religious leaders in the township, and has done security assessments at places of worship and culture in the past to prepare for any threats like this.

"Whenever we get a threat like that, we make contact with all the leaders in our religious community," said Kempf.

"Unfortunately it’s not new," he continued. "This is where those relationship and the pre-planning and the assessments pay dividends."

Cherry Hill officials also condemned antisemitism in a statement Friday:

"We are deeply troubled by the recent threat against synagogues in New Jersey reported by the FBI, as well as the rise in anti-Semitic acts across our nation," said Mayor Susan Shin Angelo, the Township Council, and the Human Relations Advisory Committee in a statement.

"We stand together with our local synagogues and Jewish community to condemn antisemitism and acts of hatred of any kind. There is no place for hate in Cherry Hill."

The Katz Jewish Community Center in Cherry Hill has been serving the Jewish community in South Jersey since the 1940s, their website says. The Katz JCC shared a post from the The Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey, which said it was working with police departments and local synagogues to increase security. Katz declined to make any further comment when Patch reached out to leadership Friday.

"Local police departments have increased their directed patrols of the area and our community synagogues under the direction of our Regional Director of Security," said the Federation in a Facebook post Thursday night.

"We are deeply troubled by the recent increase in antisemitism across our nation, and we condemn hate speech in all its forms," said the Federation, which serves Jewish people across southern NJ. "We are fortunate to live in a thriving Jewish community and in times like this, we stand together."

Camden County commissioners Jeff Nash and Melinda Kane criticized celebrities who have been promoting antisemitic messaging, saying their words have galvanized anti-Semites to start making threats.

"It shocks the conscious that in 2022, the Jewish community is once again the target of baseless, senseless violence and hatred for no other reason than being Jewish," they said. "But unfortunately, this is our reality."

On Thursday, the Brooklyn Nets suspended Kyrie Irving for five games after the NBA star Tweeted out a link to an antisemitic film, as Patch reported. Rapper and fashion mogul Kanye West also made bigoted remarks about Jewish people and has since been dropped by multiple sponsors. Combined, tens of millions of people follow Irving and West on social media.

"Recently, high profile celebrities who shall remain nameless because they deserve no attention or recognition, have been spreading antisemitic messages to their millions of fans and followers, which in turn have created viable threats to the Jewish community across New Jersey, the country and the world," Nash and Kane said.

The commissioners said those who believe in the "poison" of hatred and antisemitism are not welcome in Camden County.

"We will not idly stand by while threats are leveled at the Jewish community," said Nash and Kane in a written statement. "To the non-Jewish community, now is your time to speak up and be an ally to those who are being threatened. The Board of Commissioners stands firmly with our Jewish brothers and sisters and we will do everything in our power to make sure that antisemitic violence does not fester in our communities."

State officials reported 298 anti-Jewish bias incidents in 2020 and 347 last year. Bias incidents against any demographic tend to be undercounted though, as they hinge on the population's willingness to report matters to law enforcement and any barriers they may face in reporting.

New Jersey was home to one of the nation's deadliest antisemitic attacks in recent years, when two assailants targeted a Jewish grocery store in Jersey City. Five people were killed at the store, including both gunmen, during the Dec. 10, 2019, attack. The assailants also killed Det. Joseph Seals, a Jersey City police officer, at a nearby cemetery.

Jewish communities also recently acknowledged the four-year anniversary of the Tree of Life mass shooting, which killed 11 people on Oct. 27, 2018. The shooting at the Pittsburgh synagogue is believed to be the deadliest attack on a Jewish community in U.S. history.

Patch's Josh Bakan contributed to this report.