to show solidarity after alleged bias incident
Interfaith ceremony held
to show solidarity after alleged bias incident
Miguel Juarez staff Rabbi Bernhard Rosenberg, (r), of Temple Beth El in Edison was joined by other members of the local clergy during an interfaith candle lighting ceremony on Dec. 22.
BY MATT AUERBACH
Staff Writer
According to the community’s spiritual leaders, when one clergyman is a victim of an attack, they all feel it.
That was the message behind the interfaith menorah lighting that took place one night last week at Congregation Beth El in Edison.
Clergy and congregants from the area came together in a show of solidarity for Rabbi Bernhard Rosenberg and his wife, Charlene, who were the victims of an assault and an alleged bias attack on the night of Nov. 7.
On that Friday night, the Rosenbergs were walking to the synagogue for Sabbath services, when they were pelted with eggs thrown from a van. The same thing happened again on their walk home.
Later that night, police found the van with three juvenile males inside.
At this point, all three alleged perpetrators are charged with assault. Investigation into the case is ongoing.
For the crowd of about 100 people at the interfaith ceremony on Dec. 22, however, it was all about coming together.
"You could feel the emotions," said Rosenberg. "This event showed the solidarity of the community."
The Rev. Neva Lawson, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Woodbridge, and Shai Goldstein, regional director of the New Jersey Office of the Anti-Defamation League, who, along with the Jewish Federation of Greater Middlesex County, organized the event, were adamant in their commitment to this issue.
Referring to an incident several years ago when his church was desecrated with swastikas, Lawson said, "We were attacked because we were an African-American-based church, just as Rabbi Rosenberg and his wife were attacked because they are Jews. I am personally urging all religious, community and political leaders to make a statement of unity in the face of this bigoted attack."
"This gathering tonight underscores that in America, Jews and non-Jews alike stand for religious freedom and against bigoted fundamentalism, racism and anti-Semitism," Goldstein said.
According to Rosenberg, the solidarity of his religious brethren began to show recently.
Members of the Metuchen-Edison Clergy Association offered to walk Rosenberg and his wife to the synagogue on Dec. 19, the first night of Hanukkah.
Initially, Rosenberg was against the idea.
"I told them to forget it," he said. "Why come over here and walk in the dark?"
But the members persisted, and Rosenberg finally relented.
As it turned out, it was much more than a symbolic stroll.
Almost 20 ministers of various faiths participated, and when they arrived at the synagogue, 10 stayed and enjoyed a Hanukkah dinner with the Rosenbergs and their congregation.
"It was a smash," said Rosenberg. "Everybody loved it."
Rosenberg’s family has firsthand knowledge of the effects of racism.
All his family members except his mother and father died at Auschwitz, and he himself was born in a displaced person’s camp in Germany in 1947.
"It made me a fighter," he said.
Rosenberg said he sees both the Friday night walk and the menorah lighting as the start of something very positive.
"I’m hoping that something good can come out of something bad," he said.
As for his opinion of what should happen to his attackers, Rosenberg has some ideas.
"I don’t want them to do jail time," he said. "I don’t want to ruin anyone’s life. I just want them to put in a little community service time and learn an important lesson: When you attack one clergyman, you attack us all."