Boston — Agudath Israel of America’s New England Office applauds Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins for moving forward with hate crime charges and civil rights charges against the suspect in the horrific attack on Rabbi Shlomo Noginski outside of the Shaloh House Jewish day school in Boston last week. As DA Rollins articulated, the suspect’s actions coupled with his background and previous conduct provide a strong indication that this attack was motivated by antisemitism.

In response to the DA’s actions, Mrs. Ariella Hellman, Director of Government Affairs for the Agudath Israel New England Office, issued the following statement:

“This brutal and unprovoked attack on a rabbi outside of a Jewish day school in the light of day must be condemned in the strongest of terms. We are grateful for DA Rollins’ leadership and appreciate that she has separately called out the hate crimes charge. We are also grateful to all the elected officials who have reached out to us and who have stood with our community in this difficult moment.

“These hate-filled attacks emphasize the need to secure Jewish and other communities and we are deeply appreciative that the legislature has increased funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program to $1.5M this session.

“We look forward to working with state and local officials to continue to combat antisemitism and to ensure that adequate security measures are in place to protect vulnerable communities so that all members of our Commonwealth can feel safe and secure.”