Last week, Toast Cafe hosted a Coffee with a Cop event – something that has been done for several years throughout the area.
But on the post on Facebook showing pictures of the event, some haters decided to use the platform to make anti-Semitic comments.
Today, the Manchester Police Department releases a strong statement condemning the hate.
“The Manchester Township Police Department wholeheartedly disagrees and condemns any of the hateful and antisemitic comments made under this post. The First Amendment protects hate speech from government censorship, so it is on you, the commenter, to publicly post these antisemitic comments for everyone to see.
We thank Toast, as well as every other establishment that has hosted our Coffee with a Cop over the past year, for giving us an opportunity to meet and speak with members of our community in an informal setting. We hope to see everyone at our next Coffee with a Cop mid-February in the west end of the township.”
Yehuda Fryer, Toast’s owner, tells TLS he actually reached out online to some of the commenters spreading false information and offered them to come have breakfast – free of charge – to help clear up any misconceptions about the Jewish communities throughout Ocean County.
why to invite haters?????
Mishlei 25:21
If your enemy is hungry, feed him bread, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.
I realize the Orthodox want to remain very insular but with the expected population boom, visibility is only going to grown in NJ and beyond. The community needs to do more outreach and interacting with non-Orthodox on some level especially throughout Monmouth and Ocean counties. Just my 2 cents. Sorry for this incident.
I totally agree with you.
Hate often comes from fear of the unknown. The best way to overcome hate is to educate people.
I would like to see and attend more community events for both the Orthodox and non-Orthodox communities. As a non-Orthodox I would so appreciate opportunities to attend or virtually attend informational sessions to learn about the Orthodox community. I feel that what I find online may not always hold the truth.
I am sorry that such a great event ended with this kind of comment.
Check out One Ocean County. It was established to bring Orthodox Jewish residents and non-Orthodox residents together. http://www.oneoceancounty.com