A New Jersey teenager was charged with multiple counts of bias intimidation after he allegedly tried to lure Orthodox women as part of a gang initiation.

Police said Rafael Laurano-Flores, 18, of Lakewood had planned to touch and knock down an Orthodox Jewish woman in the southern New Jersey township, according to the Asbury Park Press. Lakewood has a large haredi Orthodox population.

Pinny Werner, coordinator of the Lakewood Civilian Safety Watch, told the newspaper, “We have not seen gang-related targeting in a long time. People are like, ‘What is going on?’ It has always been gang against gang, but now we don’t know if this is some kind of ‘knockout game’ or what.”

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The Anti-Defamation League’s New Jersey Regional Office issued a statement saying it was “incredibly disheartened to learn of this tragic instance where people were allegedly targeted because of their religion and gender.”

“Hate crimes have an impact far beyond the individual victim of the crime. When a victim is chosen because of his or her religion and gender, other members of those groups feel unsafe and unwelcome,” it said.

The ADL statement also “applauds the quick and responsive work of the Lakewood Police Department” in apprehending Laurano-Flores and charging him on Tuesday.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount