Nov. 7 assault
Three juveniles charged as a result of
Nov. 7 assault
BY MATT AUERBACH
Staff Writer
EDISON — Authorities are pondering whether to charge three local juveniles with a bias crime after an attack on a rabbi and his wife last month.
Rabbi Bernhard Rosenberg and his wife, Charlene, were walking to Congregation Beth-El on Friday evening, Nov. 7, when, at approximately 7 p.m., he felt a pain in his chest. When he looked down, he saw an egg splattered all over his clothing, he said
Rosenberg and his wife kept walking to the synagogue. A block later, his wife was also hit with an egg, according to the rabbi.
At that point in time, said Rosenberg, he and his wife realized the eggs were being thrown from a light-colored van. They began chasing the van as the eggs continued to be hurled at them. They then lost sight of the van, but made it to the synagogue where they reported the incident to the police.
It was during this call that the couple gave police what Mrs. Rosenberg thought was the correct license plate information. As it turns out, they were off by one letter, so the police search turned up nothing.
After talking to the police, Rabbi Rosenberg conducted Sabbath services. He and his wife then left the synagogue and started walking back to their home.
After a few blocks, they turned down a side street where they saw the light-colored van once again. As they dodged more eggs, the rabbi knocked on the door of a home belonging to people they did not know, he said.
The homeowners let the rabbi and his wife in, where police were called again. This time, they got the license plate right and the police apprehended the van, with the alleged juvenile perpetrators inside, almost immediately, said the rabbi.
While police only initially filed charges of assault, the rabbi wanted to see the incident treated as a bias crime, he said.
"I want these young people to get more than a slap on the wrist. I want to send a message that says, ‘You can’t do this,’ " he said.
It’s here that, according to Rosenberg, the case takes a strange turn.
"I spoke to the Jewish State [a Jewish weekly newspaper] about the incident and they ran articles three weeks in a row," said the rabbi. "But there was no reaction from the Jewish community, or, for that matter, the community at large."
Rosenberg is quick to point out that while he’s pleased with the cooperation he’s gotten from the Edison Police Department and the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, he’s disappointed with the community.
Until he took his story public in several other papers last week, the rabbi said, the community did not pay attention.
Rosenberg says he’s not in this for personal gain or revenge.
"I don’t have a lawyer, I’m not suing, there is no lawsuit," he said. "I don’t want them to go to jail. I just want to teach them a lesson. No one should be stalked."
What Rosenberg wants is for the three juveniles to do community service at Congregation Beth-El.
"I also want an apology from the three of them and their parents," he said.
According to the prosecutor’s office, each juvenile may eventually face charges of bias intimidation on top of harassment and assault, depending on the outcome of the investigation.
"We are currently evaluating all the evidence and will make our decision shortly," Assistant Prosecutor Robert Critelli said Monday.
Critelli also explained the legal precedents that must be met in order to charge someone with a bias crime.
"There has to be an underlying offense. For instance, if someone uses a racial or religious epithet toward you, that’s not a bias crime. But if you’re threatened as well, that constitutes bias," he said.