Authorities are searching for the suspect who threw a Molotov cocktail at the entrance of a synagogue over the weekend. Bloomfield police say the bomb failed to go off and caused no damage. This is the latest attack on the Jewish community, which has faced a sharp increase in antisemitism across the country.

Bloomfield resident Wendy Grossman, who has attended Temple Ner Tamid for more than 40 years, was horrified to hear of the attack. “I’m very proud of who I am,” Grossman said. “I just feel sad for the person, who at three in the morning, they have nothing better to do than to try and destroy or damage a structure.”

“Even with the fact that he didn’t do any damage, it terrorizes a community. That’s the nature of such hate crimes. It terrorizes a community who all worry what’s coming next,” said Scott Richman, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League of New York/New Jersey.

Rabbi Marc Katz put out a statement, which reads in part, “Everything worked as it should. Our cameras recorded the incident and our shatter-resistant doors held. But what I cannot do, is convince our community not to grow despondent. There is hate everywhere, and hate wins when we let it penetrate … Our religious traditions continue. No act of hate can stop the power of religious freedom.”

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