Arsonists threw several Molotov cocktails and other explosive devices through the bedroom window of an Orthodox rabbi’s home early Wednesday morning, authorities said.
Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said the attack on Congregation Beth El on Montross Avenue is being investigated as an attempted murder and a “bias hate intimidation crime.”
The Orthodox temple’s rabbi, Nosson Schuman, said in an interview outside his home, which shares a building with the synagogue and a school, that the attack was an “act against his life,” adding that he believes the incident is linked to recent acts of vandalism targeting Bergen County synagogues..
“They wanted to kill a Jewish leader,” Schuman said. “This was well-planned.”
Schuman said the assailants threw one Molotov cocktail into his bedroom that landed on the bed where he and his wife, Pessy, were sleeping, engulfing a blanket in flames. Pessy Schuman ran to the couple’s five children while her husband extinguished the flames, which had spread to the carpet, and a window.
“I don’t take this personally,” said Schuman, who suffered second-degree burns to his left hand. “These criminals need therapy.”
Molinelli confirmed that one incendiary device landed in Schuman’s second-floor bedroom. It did not explode, but a flammable substance from the device sprayed on the bed and the floor, the prosecutor said.
It was one of several glass firebombs and lighted aerosol cans that were used in the attack, Molinelli said, suggesting that more than one person was involved.
Nine people in the building — the Schumans; their five children, who range in age from 5 to 17, and Nosson Schuman’s parents — all escaped safely, Molinelli said.
“I’m watching him in awe. I’m grateful he’s my husband,” Pessy Schuman said. “And I’m thankful to God.”
Several people called 911 just before 4:40 a.m. to report the fire, which was quickly extinguished by firefighters, said Capt. Hal Ciser of the Rutherford Fire Department.
Authorities then closed nearby streets and remained at the synagogue for hours while investigators pored over the scene. Some were seen on the temple’s roof, and a fire truck was also parked nearby.
“It’s not a real, real big temple,” said a neighbor, Robert Genardi. “It is off a side street. It seems awful strange unless somebody has been casing it.”
It was the fourth attack against a Bergen County synagogue since Dec. 10, but Molinelli said he did not know whether the incident was related to others in Paramus, Maywood and Hackensack in the last month.
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