TOMS RIVER - Sparked by an increase in bias incidents and community tension, a new interfaith group organized by Police Chief Mitchell Little hopes to encourage residents to get to know neighbors of different faiths and cultures.

Toms River UNITED (Uniting Neighbors in Town Everyday) has already held its first meeting, with a second session set to be scheduled for later this month.

"The idea is to get everybody to get out and meet everybody and see that, when they meet their neighbors, they realize that we all have a lot in common," Little said of the group's purpose. "We find out that we are more alike than we are not."

Battling bias

The Rev. Ted Foley, deacon of Toms River's Christ Episcopal Church, said he and other faith leaders became concerned about tensions in northern Toms River that increased after young Orthodox Jewish families began moving to the area about four years ago.

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"What has particularly sparked this was some of the anti-Semitism in northern Toms River, when people, the Orthodox, were moving into northern Toms River," Foley said, "it was fanned by real estate agents who were trying to scare people, in my opinion they were doing block busting. That really had a negative effect, from the religious community, law enforcement community, there were groups in the town that were very upset by peoples’ reaction."

Statistics released by the state attorney general's office this spring showed bias incidents, which rose 14 percent statewide, had a much sharper uptick at the Shore: bias incidents rose 60 percent in Monmouth County and 43 percent in Ocean. The statistics cover 2016, the most recent year for which such data is available.

While the statewide figure remains nearly half of what it was 10 years ago, the increase from 2015 to 2016 reverses a five-year trend of decreasing prejudice in New Jersey.

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Anti-Semitic incidents spiked in New Jersey in 2017 — 32 percent higher than the year prior — according to a report by the Anti-Defamation League released in February. An ADL spokesman attributed the victims being more willing to report incidents, along with perpetrators who feel "emboldened and empowered" to act.

Foley said Toms River UNITED was born in part because community leaders feared some rhetoric on social media sites was getting out of hand.

"There have been people who have been monitoring social media that are concerned that we could have a serious incident," he said.

Foley said he hopes Toms River UNITED can facilitate small group meetings, perhaps in the form of neighborhood block parties, that will help Toms River residents of different religions get to know each other.

"There are a variety of efforts," Foley said of the ideas raised during Toms River UNITED's first meeting in August. "I think what we need to do is find different ways of getting people together, getting to know each other, being in fellowship with each other."

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Foley has been part of Toms River's Interfaith Clergy Assocation for years, developing relationships with fellow clergy of different faiths. He said he hopes Toms River UNITED can have the success in promoting understanding of different faiths and cultures that he's seen within the clergy group.

"When we start a meeting, we’ll ask somebody to pray," Foley said of the Interfaith Clergy Association. "They might pray in Arabic, Hebrew or English. It doesn’t matter. We’re all praying at the same time. That organization is modeling what we hope the rest of the community is doing."

First meeting

That first Toms River UNITED meeting drew township officials, religious leaders and representatives from the business community. Chief LIttle said he hopes members of the township's service organizations, including the Rotary Club, Kiwanis and the Elks, will also join in.

A downtown food festival, which could include music and art, is one of the events the group is considering, the chief said.

"Every different group or culture could bring their specialty. They could showcase all their different arts, things that are unique to their culture," he said. The idea has the enthusiastic backing of Alizar Zorojew, executive director of Downtown Toms River.

Michael Waldner, who attended the first Toms River UNITED meeting, said he welcomes the chief's initiative.

Waldner is a member of the Toms River Jewish Community Council, a group of Orthodox Jewish men that formed last fall. The group has been working to promote understanding and improve relations between the growing Orthodox community and its neighbors.

Learn more about the group's work in the video above this story.

"We're very heartened by the movement and its objectives," Waldner wrote in an email. "The chief has gathered like-minded and level-headed people who believe that unity and the society of brotherhood is ultimately more productive than hate and diversity."

Of Toms River UNITED, Waldner said, "The group consists of community leaders or influencers who love Toms River and love the fact that all people from all backgrounds can live in unity and friendship here. It's our hope that their voices will be heard over those who would rather promote senseless animosity between us."

Township resident Lisa Gertner shares Waldner's hope for Toms River UNITED. She said she hopes the group can help people of different faith traditions come together and get to know each other.

"I have said a number of times that it's easier to hate a group than it is an individual," Gertner said. "...You may attribute negative stereotypes to a whole group of unknown people, but when you get to really know individuals, you see that they don't necessarily fit that mold."

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Gertner, who is Jewish, but not Orthodox, is the founder of a group called Ocean County RAFT (Reaching Across Faith Traditions) with Mona Khan, who is Muslim. The two women met through an interfaith book club, the Daughters of Abraham, which includes Jewish, Christian and Muslim women.

She said she and Khan were inspired to form RAFT after witnessing the tensions in Toms River that arose after dozens of young Orthodox Jewish families began moving into town in the past four years.

"I feel really unhappy that there is so much negative that is just simmering under the surface," Gertner said. "All these 'Toms River Strong' signs that were popping up...There was a lot of simmering nastiness that just shocked me."

She said Toms River UNITED and RAFT have similar goals; reaching across cultural and religious divides to help neighbors to better understand each other.

"We all want the same things," Gertner said. "We want our families to live in a safe world, to just live and let live. Nobody is asking for a great deal of concessions, just maybe some understanding and respect."

Community quilt

One of RAFT's project is the "Fabric of the Community" quilt. Starting in June, residents have been meeting at Ocean County Library on Thursdays to make a 6-inch by 6-inch square for a quilt that illustrates something important in their lives.

The many different squares will be stitched together, with the finished quilt scheduled to be unveiled Oct. 23 at the Ocean County Library's Toms River headquarters on Washington Street.

"We all share that love of our family and our home and pride in our culture, we are celebrating our thankfulness, our gratitude," Gertner said of the quilt's interlocking squares. "We have kids doing it, we have old people doing it. It's a great thing."

Toms River UNITED will hold its second meeting this month. For more information, email Chief Little at chief@trpolice.org.

Jean Mikle: 732-643-4050, @jeanmikle, jmikle@gannettnj.com