Letter: My Experience in Toms River

Thank you for your terrific coverage of the failed Toms River Council candidate who made anti-Semitic social media posts. I do however feel that there is one area in which your coverage was lacking.

That area is the dedication and devotion of Toms River officials.

I have seen firsthand how warm, welcoming, caring and sensitive they are, regardless of one’s race or religion. It is not uncommon for them to go above and beyond the call of duty to accommodate the specific needs of a resident or to make a hesitant newcomer feel welcome and at home in Toms River.

When seeing the friction that exists between residents and officials in neighboring towns, it makes me even more grateful for the fairness and open dialogue that our officials here in Toms River provide us with. With so much hate, division, and polarizing rhetoric being constantly spewed in today’s society, it is refreshing to have civic leaders who have open minds and see the positive in each and every resident.

It is encouraging to have public figures be so supportive of all, and recognizing the irrelevancy of one’s race or religion, choosing rather to focus on how all Toms River residents can live and strive together towards a better, brighter future for us all.

We all want peace, quiet, and safe, uncongested streets. We all want friendship and kindness to be a defining hallmark of our diverse neighborhoods, and I am glad our officials recognize that.

So to all our wonderful Toms River officials: thank you. Thank you for treating everyone with more respect, sensitivity, kindness and understanding than we could ever hope for.

Thank you for not yielding to the demands of a few hateful individuals who want Jews to be shut out from Toms River.

But most of all, thank you for all that you do for every resident of Toms River – your leadership has not gone unnoticed.

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10 COMMENTS

  1. My brother lives in Toms River and he as well always says how nice his neighbors are and how cordial the locals are in general. Amazing how social media would make you think that world war 3 is breaking out there.

  2. I live in TR, there’s no overdevelopment here and none in the plans that I know of (at least not from the Jewish community), no one yelling or demonstrating despite what Barrone and her on line hater friends would lead you to believe. Toms River Stronger!!!!

  3. You are expressing beautiful sentiment. It sadly conflicts with reality. The reality of Toms River is those “nice” officials deliberately changed Toms River zoning in order to keep Jews and Muslims out of their town.

    If you want to build a new shul in Toms River you will need a 10 acre lot. 10 acres was set as the insane minimum in order to prevent you – a Jew, from building a Shul.

    That is why Toms River only has “undocumented” shuls. Then we are accused of acting against the law with “illegal” houses of worship.

    It is your officials who acted against Federal and State law by changing the zoning in order to stop people they don’t like from moving in.

    Don’t be fooled by the “gemutlichkeit” surface courtesy, such was expressed even during the Holocaust by the worst haters, who often said “please” when asking people to board the trains.

    So here is an easy test of sincerity: ask your officials to amend Toms River zoning to allow neighborhood shuls on normal sized lots. Don’t ask for anything special – just to allow today, for new houses of worship, what they allowed for Christians in the past. They are going to say no to you – try it.

  4. A
    You surely dont live in Toms River. And if you feel that one issue defines the entire landscape then you live in an alternate universe. BH we have good people who care and may those voices and that of the person who penned this article ring louder than dividers and scare mongers than yours.

  5. I recently received a traffic ticket in Toms River. I was shocked how Super nice and professional the police officer and his Sergeant acted towards me. At the Court House same exact treatment from the Prosecutor, the Judge, and all the Staff. Halivai the Lakewood Clerks would treat me with this much Menshlechkeit.
    I was bracing myself for the worst and I was blown away by how nicely I was treated there. Yes, the Shuls May be an issue, but what I experienced was a real life Human to Human interactions of a community of the finest people

Comments are closed.