Police: Man hurls Molotov cocktail at N.J. synagogue

A man wearing a ski mask lit the wick of a Molotov cocktail and hurled it at the front door of a Bloomfield, N.J., synagogue early Sunday morning, the latest episode in an uptick of harassment and violence targeting Jews and Jewish institutions, authorities said.

The Molotov cocktail’s bottle broke, and the synagogue, Temple Ner Tamid, was undamaged, the Bloomfield Police Department said in a news release.

The man was wearing black clothing, including a shirt that appeared to have a skull and crossbones design on it, according to the synagogue’s surveillance footage. Police said the man “fled down the driveway,” though it was unclear if he got away on foot or by car.

About six hours after the attack, temple staff members discovered what had happened and notified police. The synagogue said in a statement that the fire went out on impact and that the door was secure. All scheduled activities on Sunday were canceled, and the synagogue said it expected an ongoing and heightened police presence in the coming days.

Marc Katz, the temple’s rabbi, said in the statement that the synagogue has and “will continue to do everything in our power to keep our community safe.”

“Everything worked as it should,” he said. “Our cameras recorded the incident, and our shatter-resistant doors held.”

The state attorney general, Matthew J. Platkin, said in a statement that his office was also made aware of a separate “attack on members of a church in Monmouth County” on Saturday.

He did not offer details or say whether the attacks were linked but described the attack on the church as “another incident being pursued as potentially bias-motivated.”

A representative from his office was not immediately available to comment on Sunday.