On December 10th, 2019, Jersey City experienced a shooting that shook the community, as well as the state, to its core. Gunfire started at 12:30 pm, and the prolonged back-and-forth fire lasted nearly two hours. Schools were placed on lockdown and streets cleared as the residents of Jersey City listened to gunfire with bated breath.

With three civilians and one law enforcement officer dead, only one question remains – what exactly happened?

Fallen detective and long-time police veteran Detective Joseph Seals approached a parked van which had possible connections to a homicide case from the previous weekend. He was shot by the man and the woman within the van, which was then driven to a nearby kosher deli. The fire within the deli resulted in three civilian deaths and the deaths of the two shooters. 

“As a school that has a pretty high Jewish population, something like this could affect a lot of people emotionally in that they see people in their culture being targeted,” says Noah Hirschfield, Hills Junior, when finding out that the kosher deli was a deliberate target. 

One of the most distinguishing details of this horrible event is the intent to harm the growing Hasidic community within the city. The deli was popular within the neighborhood, and its opening three years ago signified the Jewish Community putting down roots within Jersey City. 

Pascack Hills High School has a large Jewish population, and many Jewish kids within our community are part of a group called CTeen. CTeen is a national club for Jewish teenagers to come together and talk about their religion and heritage in a safe, open environment. 

Shayna Solkowitz is a CTeen leader and Pascack Hills junior, who said this about the shooting. “When the news first came out about the shooting in Jersey City, the news outlets failed to mention it happened in a Kosher supermarket. As discovered later, not only did the shooting take place in a Kosher supermarket, but it wasn’t by accident.”

One of the suspects had been posting anti-semitic content online previous to the attack. While more details have not been released, the anti-semitic nature of the act is concerning and frightening and also begs the question – with the dramatic increase of hate crimes targeting Jewish people, what can be done?

Education is the most important part of any change. Knowledge is power, and in cases like these power is knowing what’s right and what is not. At Pascack Hills, classes like Ms. Lutz’s Literature of the Holocaust are important in teaching the history of Jewish people and combating antisemitism. 

“This class is important because you need to learn about history to prevent it from repeating itself,” says Jasmine Delgado, Literature of the Holocaust student. “Anti-semitism has always been a thing that has never disappeared or dissipated, and with the President’s recent antisemitic comments, hate in the country is at an all-time high.” 

The comments in question were given at a speech the President gave on Saturday to the Israeli-American Council. Within the speech, he told Jewish-Americans that they “don’t love Israel enough”, that they were “cold-blooded killers” and that they wouldn’t vote for Elizabeth Warren because the wealth tax would close their business. 

Delgado goes on to say, “This class is the best thing Hills has to offer in terms of fighting hatred.”

Even if you don’t have room in your schedule for this class, talking to Ms. Lutz or even Hill’s guidance staff can be helpful in educating yourself about the problems others are going through. Attending events like the antisemitism conference Lutz’s class went to or even talking with your Jewish friends about what you can do to make them feel safe. With the rise of hate crimes against Jews, it’s important for all of us to be informed and consciousness of both our words and our actions.  

“You aren’t born with hatred,” says Solkowitz. “It’s slyly taught throughout your life. So how can you do part? Just be a good person, and choose your statements carefully.”