Alleged NJ synagogue bombers plead not guilty

JTA — Two New Jersey men accused of firebombing several synagogues in the state pleaded not guilty.

Anthony Graziano of Lodi and Aakash Dalal of New Brunswick, both 21, made their pleas on Monday in state Superior Court in Hackensack, The Record reported.

They were indicted in March on charges of bias intimidation, conspiracy to commit arson on a synagogue and aggravated arson, as well as attempted murder and terrorism charges.

Graziano was arrested in January 2012 shortly after the attacks in northern New Jersey’s Bergen County. Dalal was arrested two months later. Both remain in jail in lieu of millions of dollars in bail.

One of the alleged attacks, on Congregation Beth El in Rutherford, injured Rabbi Nosson Schuman, who lives with his family in the synagogue residence. Molotov cocktails thrown at the synagogue set fire to the bedroom of the rabbi’s family.