This story has been updated since its original publication.
VENTNOR – A day after the local Jewish community held its annual festival in the beachfront park on Newport Avenue, Chabad at the Shore received an unidentified threatening electronic message at the Chabad on Atlantic Avenue.
Police responded Monday morning around 11 a.m. to a call from the synagogue, where a day camp was being held. Police safely evacuated the building, searched it, deemed it was clear and activities were able to return to normal.
“We are grateful to the Ventnor Police for their quick response,” the congregation posted on its Facebook page. “We will continue to remain vigilant and strengthen our security measures to protect our community.”
Ventnor’s Acting Police Chief, Capt. Louis Kabo said the investigation is ongoing and there is no threat to the public at this time.
The threat came a day after antisemitic tropes shouted from a passerby on the boardwalk marred the annual celebratory event that focuses on Jewish culture. The park was set up for children’s activities, a musical performance, Kosher foods, games, crafts and facepainting. More than 300 people attended the event, which lasted peacefully into the evening.
“Some allegations were made and the man was sent on his way,” Kabo said.
According to Rabbi Avrohom Rapoport, the group was setting up for the celebration when a man walked by and “yelled at our volunteers for more than 20 minutes about how we were killing babies.”
“You are an antisemitic person. You should be ashamed of yourself,” Rapoport yelled back.
Apparently, the man was yelling that the Jewish people gathered in the park are responsible for children dying in the war between Israel and Palestine.
“He was saying, kill the Jews,” Rapoport said on a recorded video.
Police responded to the boardwalk to calm the situation, move the man along, and the festival proceeded without further incident.
Kabo said the responses to the Facebook video posting were many and included viewpoints on both sides of the issue.
“I can’t say yes or no that the two incidents are related, but the first post stirred up a lot of comments on both sides,” Kabo said.
Since the incidents, police have increased patrols in locations where the Jewish population congregates. There are numerous synagogues in the Downbeach community, which has a large Jewish population.
“We have a police patrol vehicle stationed near the Chabad to ensure the safety of everyone,” Kabo said.
No further details were released, but the investigation is ongoing.
“Our response will not be to hide our Judaism,” Rabbi Rapoport said. “We will be vigilant, we will take security seriously, and we will continue to gather, celebrate and live proudly as Jews. We will not allow hate to define us. We respond by adding light: one more mitzvah, one more act of kindness, one more good deed.”
It was in summer 2023 that all three Downbeach communities passed resolutions denouncing antisemitism in all forms.
According to Marcia I. Bronstein of the American Jewish Committee of Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey, 89% of Americans believe antisemitism is a threat to democracy and should not be tolerated in the United States. One in three American Jews say they have been victims of antisemitism over the last five years, she said.
The organization works to educate the public about antisemitic language and tropes Jewish people find hurtful to the community.
Learn more at https://www.ajc.org/translatehate
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