Buono Statement On Edison Bias Crimes

EDISON – Senator Barbara Buono (D-Middlesex) issued the following statement in response to two recent bias crimes that occurred in Edison. The first involved the violent attack of a 19-year old student of the Rabbi Jacob Joseph Yeshiva on the second night of Rosh Hashana and the second involved the spray painting of three swastikas on the front of the Congregation Beth El synagogue, discovered the day after Yom Kippur.

“The bias crimes that occurred in Edison this past week are a shameful and outright heinous example of the destructive ability of those who are motivated by hate. The young man who was assaulted during the Jewish holy season, and the many young children who arrived at synagogue to find the symbol of hate used by the Nazi regime, are innocent victims of this irrational intolerance.

“Bias crimes are unique because they target individuals based upon who they are or who they’re perceived to be. But while they may target certain religious, racial, or ethnic groups, they are in actuality an assault on our society’s core values of acceptance and inclusion. They are examples of ignorance at its very worst, and they will not be tolerated.

“Those who perpetrated the atrocious displays of anti-Semitism this past week will be brought to justice. The strength of our county and of the great state of New Jersey lies in our diversity and in our embrace of the differences among us. That strength will not be broken by this violent display of ignorance. No one should be victimized because of who they are, and I am confident that the Edison Police Department, the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, and the members of our community will come together to ensure that such incidents do not occur again.”