'Night of Healing' Promises Future Events for Interfaith, Interracial Solidarity in Bergen County

Following the apprehension – and confession last week – by Anthony Graziano of Lodi to the firebombing of two Bergen County synagogues, Jews, African-Americans, Christian leaders and local residents gathered at the Bergen County Courthouse in Hackensack for a “Night of Healing.”

“Let’s come together as the Bergen County Community,” said Reverend Marilyn M. Harris, president of the Black Clergy Council-Englewood,Teaneck.

The brief ceremony - held on a spring-like night – was organized by the Bergen County NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People). In attendance were Freeholders, including former Fort Lee Councilwoman and current Bergen County Freeholder Joan Voss, and members of the Bergen County Police Department, which was praised for the investigation that brought the suspect into custody in a few short, fear-filled weeks.

The first two acts, defacing a Maywood and a Hackensack synagogue with anti-Semitic graffiti, may not be related to the Molotov cocktails, which Graziano admits setting at a Paramus synagogue’s daycare center and throwing into the window of a Rabbi’s home at a synagogue in Rutherford.

Although the apparent lone-wolf firebombing attacks have ended, they sharply recalled two incidents, half a century ago, which solidified the relationship between American Jews and African Americans, said Rabbi Neal Borovitz, of The Jewish Community Relations Council.

The simple yellow program for the event featured photographs from the days of the Civil Rights Movement: One photo depicted an Atlanta synagogue on Peachtree Street. Above that appeared four small photographs of Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robinson and Denise McNair.

During the Civil Rights Movement, a wall of the synagogue was blown out with dynamite on October 12, 1958. Property damage was minor in relation to the shock of the event, although a telephoned threat was made that in the next bombing the building would not be empty. Five years later, the four young girls were killed, while attending Sunday school in the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama on September 15, 1963.

Although relations and laws have changed greatly in the half century since those events, said James Harris, president of the NJ State Conference of the NAACP, the recent attacks serve as a call to treasure and cultivate the relationships of all Bergen County residents.

The Rev. Gregory Jackson of Mount Olive Baptist Church in Hackensack introduced soloist Devry Pazant, leading the attendees in singing “We Shall Overcome,” a hymn of unity from the days of the Civil Rights Movement.

In 1977, Rev. Jackson founded the Interfaith Brotherhood /Sisterhood Committee. At first, a committee of the Black Clergy Council, Bergen County’s Roman Catholic Archdiocese, the United Council of Churches and the Jewish Community Relations Council. The group now includes Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims, Jains and Baha’is, who will actively work toward continuing gatherings such as the “Night of Healing.” Despite the apprehension and confession by the perpetrator of the firebombing attacks on two Bergen County synagogues, local communities must remain aware of individuals or groups that would tear apart suburban life.

In continuation of vigilance and unity following the synagogue desecrations and the "Night of Healing," the following program will be held at Bergen Community College on Thursday, Feb. 16, from 7 to 10 p.m. for Bergen County religious leaders
Pastors, Imams, Rabbis and Administrators in religious facilities:

Presentations by Representatives of Bergen County Police, Sheriff Department, Bergen County Prosecutors Office and Security Company and other Resource Persons on the topic of "Safety and Security for All Houses of Worship."

Sponsored by the Bergen County Council of Churches, the Bergen County Human Relations Commission and County Law Enforcement Agencies.