Highland Park Police Department arrested Richard M. Green, 52, of Bayard Street in New Brunswick on November 30. He is charged with five acts of vandalism against Jewish-owned businesses in Highland Park during the last week of November.

Police are investigating to see if Green is also responsible for additional acts of vandalism that took place in the area over the last week, including vandalism at the Rutgers Chabad House.

Andrew Gatraer, Rutgers Hillel’s executive director told New Jersey Jewish News that Richard Green is Jewish but known to be “mentally ill”, therefore, his actions cannot be called ‘anti-Semitic’.

Just imagine if the suspect had been an Arab or Muslim! The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has denounced the acts of vandalism without mentioning Green’s ‘Jewishness’.

Jerusalem Pizza, Jack’s Hardware, Park Place restaurant, Judaica Gallery and Trio Gifts were all targeted in the vandalism spree.

Nobody was injured, as all the shops were closed at the time.

The vandalism was comprised of windows being smashed. No graffiti was discovered on any of the businesses, according to the Prosecutor’s Office.