A New Jersey rabbi yesterday described a terrifying firebomb attack on his synagogue and home as he vowed to turn the near-tragedy into a lesson about understanding.
“God has a mission for me,” said Rabbi Nosson Schuman of Congregation Beth El in Rutherford.
Schuman and his family were asleep at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday in the living quarters of the synagogue, when a Molotov cocktail was tossed through his bedroom window.
The bomb’s accelerant “sprayed all over our blankets, all over the carpet,” Schuman said yesterday.
He and his wife rushed to put out the fire and gather up their five children. All escaped safely. “The situation could have been horrific . . . It turned out to be as minimal damage as possible,” Schuman said.
The attack was the fourth anti-Semitic incident in the last month in Bergen County. Investigators say there’s no evidence linking the attacks. They’ve labeled the firebombing of Congregation Beth El as attempted murder.
Schuman said he hopes the incident inspires new multifaith efforts at understanding.
“We have to work together and respect everybody for the good they do, whether Jew or non-Jew,” the rabbi said. “That’s what the nation needs.”
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