On Friday, the leadership of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America (the Orthodox Union), the nation’s largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization, expressed its horror over the brutal attack of a Chabad rabbi on a street outside of a synagogue in Boston, Massachusetts, on Thursday. The Orthodox Union condemned the attack, an apparent act of anti-Semitism, and called for greater action by elected officials and society at large to aggressively combat the ongoing and alarming rise of anti-Semitism in the United States.
The rabbi, Shlomo Noginski, who teaches at the Brighton neighborhood’s “Shaloh House” where he was attacked, was reportedly approached by the suspect, who first pulled out a gun and tried to force the rabbi into a vehicle before stabbing him several times. Rabbi Noginski is reportedly recovering from his wounds. His assailant, identified as 24-year-old Khaled Awad of Brighton, was apprehended by Boston Police.
Nathan Diament, the Orthodox Union’s Executive Director for Public Policy, said: “We have repeatedly asked federal and state elected leaders to do more to combat and deter the ongoing wave of anti-Semitism. There are steps they can – and must – take immediately to better protect American Jews. These include, at the federal level, dramatically increasing funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, passing legislation such as the bipartisan “Pray Safe Act of 2021” that would establish a clearinghouse on safety and security for faith-based organizations, and filling the post of State Department Special Envoy to Combat anti-Semitism and other key government posts with responsibility for combatting anti-Semitic hate crimes.”