Amid a vague threat this weekend to Jewish congregations around the country, and ensuing police warnings to remain vigilant, Rabbi Marc Katz assured his congregation he’s continuing Shabbat services as planned and that the focus will remain on the one-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine. 

Katz’s congregation, Temple Ner Tamid in Bloomfield, New Jersey, has experienced first-hand this year’s rise in antisemitic incidents, with New York experiencing the most and New Jersey trailing close behind. Last month, the Essex County congregation of more than 500 families was victimized by an attempted firebomber when a flaming bottle of gasoline failed to rupture the glass of a synagogue door. There were no injuries.

Temple Ner Tamid was on high alert again this Shabbat as police departments and Jewish organizations in New York and nationwide were warned of rumors of an organized national “Day of Hate” Saturday, Feb. 25. 

Vague threats

The organizers did not indicate targets or locations and as of Saturday afternoon, no specific incidents have been reported. Still, law enforcement, anti-terrorism agencies and antisemitism watchdog groups around the country were warned earlier this week of general action to intimidate and spread fear among Jewish communities by neo-Nazi groups. 

People waving Nazi swastika flags argue with conservatives during a protest outside the Tampa Convention Center (credit: REUTERS/MARCO BELLO)

News of the “Day of Hate” came following a leaked internal memo by the New York Police Department’s Intelligence and Counterterrorism Bureau. The memo warned officers that online organizers are "instructing likeminded individuals to drop banners, place stickers and flyers, or scrawl graffiti as a form of biased so-called action."

“While there are no identified threats to New York City, out of an abundance of caution, the Department will deploy additional resources to sensitive locations, including houses of worship, throughout the weekend,” an NYPD spokesperson told The Jerusalem Post on Friday. “We urge all New Yorkers to remain vigilant.” 

Police in Lakewood, New Jersey, also said that there had not been any "credible information to suggest that these threats will impact New Jersey," but said they would be increasing the number of on-duty officers in marked and unmarked cars anyway, to ensure residents' safety.

Preparing for the Day of Hate

The Day of Hate reportedly has been in the works for more than a month. On a channel of the encrypted messaging app Telegram, members of Crew 319, an Iowa-based white supremacist group whose most visible action so far has been a flier campaign, a notice from Jan. 4 called on members to “make your voices heard loud and clear, that the one true enemy of the American people is the Jew.”

StandWithUs CEO and Co-Founder Roz Rothstein, the daughter of Holocaust survivors, tweeted out a graphic encouraging the community to celebrate a “Shabbat of Love.” 

“This Shabbat: Do something wonderful to counter the ‘Day of Hate,’” StandWithUs tweeted.

Club Z Founder and Executive Director Masha Merkulova urged the Jewish community “to go to synagogue this Shabbat and celebrate loudly, proudly and more joyfully than ever before.” “It is critically important that we do not cower in the face of this virulent Jew-hatred,” she said. “We must show the world that we are not afraid, we will not be silent, and we will always stand united against hate and violence toward the Jewish people. The people of Israel live. The Nation of Israel endures.”

Source: JPost