A rabbi in Ocean County is being sued by a woman who claims he sexually assaulted her when she came to him for financial help, then defamed her on a website and in fliers he posted near her children’s school.
New Jersey
Murphy gets high marks in early COVID: This week in Central Jersey history, April 21-27
According to a Monmouth University Poll, Gov. Phil Murphy’s approval rating among New Jersey residents skyrocketed to 71% amid the coronavirus pandemic, jumping 30 points since September 2019, it was reported on Wednesday, April 22, 2020.
The poll also showed wide approval of the strict measures the state had taken to slow the spread of the virus.
Here’s a look at events that happened in Central Jersey from five, 10, 25, 50 and 100 years ago this week.
Five years ago
April 21, 2020: The Somerset County Park Commission announced the annual July 4th fireworks display at North Branch Park in Bridgewater and other popular events had been canceled due to the financial and health impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.
April 21: Seton Hall basketball star Myles Powell earned a second straight Haggerty Award as the metropolitan area’s top player, becoming the first Pirate ever to receive the honor twice.
April 22: Gov. Phil Murphy reported 3,551 new cases of the coronavirus in New Jersey at the state’s daily briefing, bringing the statewide total to 95,865. He also reported 314 more virus-related deaths, bringing the statewide death toll to 5,063.
April 24: It was reported seven New Jersey schools were in the top 100 in U.S. News & World Report’s rankings of the best 500 high schools released earlier in the week, including Middlesex County Academy for Science, Mathematics and Engineering Technologies on the campus of Middlesex County College in Edison.
April 24: Bon Jovi canceled the band’s upcoming summer tour with Bryan Adams, which included at show on Tuesday, July 14, 2020, at the Prudential Center in Newark, it was reported.
April 25: It was reported the cities of South Amboy and Perth Amboy had canceled their annual joint Fourth of July celebration and several other large annual outdoor events due to the coronavirus pandemic.
April 27: According to a new Monmouth University Poll released three days after “Weed Day,” a sizeable majority of New Jersey voters would vote to legalize marijuana in November 2020, it was reported.
10 years ago
April 25, 2015: It was reported a person associated with Raritan Valley Community College in the North Branch section of Branchburg had been diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis and Somerset County and state health officials were conducting an investigation to identify those people who may have had sufficient exposure to require further testing.
April 25: Marisa Eve Girawong, a physician’s assistant, was killed in the 7.8 earthquake in Nepal. Before leaving to work there in 2014, Edison was listed as her place of residence.
April 25: Jonathan Morgan, 28, of Plainfield, one of two men responsible for the 2010 robbery and murder of Isidro Leonardo, 44, a Plainfield taxi driver, was sentenced to 45 years in state prison, it was reported.
April 25: The Stone Temple Pilots and Dreamers performed at The Wellmont Theater in Montclair.
April 26: The Franklin Township Food Bank’s annual Tour de Franklin fundraiser, featuring 62-, 40-, 25- and 10-mile rides, as well as others, was held in the Somerset section of Franklin Township.
April 26: The Montgomery High School boys tennis team won four of their five matches to beat Pingry, 34-30, clinching their seventh straight Somerset County Tournament tennis team title at the Green Knoll Tennis Center at Bridgewater.
2000
April 21, 2000: Lightning struck at least four homes in Middlesex County between 4:30 and 5:30 p.m., setting one of them on fire.
April 23: It was reported New Jersey actors Avery Brooks and Joe Morton would be featured in the 11th annual “Genesis Festival 2000, New Voices in African-American Theatre,” which would begin Saturday, April 29, 2000, at Crossroads Theatre Company in New Brunswick.
April 24: New Jersey voters passed a record number of school budgets the previous week, approving 88.1 percent of spending plans, up from the previous year’s 82.8 percent, it was reported.
April 25: The Transcontinental Gas Line Co., a Texas-based natural gas pipeline company, won final approval to build a controversial 155-mile gas line through Pennsylvania and New Jersey. On Wednesday, April 26, 2000, New Jersey officials said they would contest the federal approval.
April 25: Shawnetta Stewart and Usha Gilmore became the first Rutgers University women’s basketball players selected in the WNBA Draft.
1975
April 21, 1975: In high school baseball, Rich Gabriel’s two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning gave South River a 3-1 win over Woodbridge, which had its first defeat of the season.
April 22: During a five-hour Somerville Board of Education session, 12 teachers were put out of jobs and two programs were cut despite protests from students, teachers, parents and citizens.
April 24: Secretary of State J. Edward Crabiel was back on the state government payroll, one day after his acquittal on highway bid-rigging charges.
April 25: East Brunswick Mayor Jean Sears Walling died of cancer at Middlesex General Hospital in New Brunswick. She was 53.
April 25: It was reported poet-singer Patti Smith would make her first New Jersey appearance on Wednesday, April 30, 1975, at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick.
April 26: County and state health inspectors had ruled out problems in the Dunellen High School cafeteria as the cause of sickness which had kept nearly one-third of the students home for two days, it was reported.
1925
April 21, 1925: Ground was broken by the Charter Construction Company, Inc. of New York for the erection of First Church of Christ, Scientist, at Prospect Avenue and East Ninth Street in Plainfield. It was reported on Wednesday, April 22, 1925, the cost would be $55,000.
April 22-23: The movie, “The Last Laugh,” starring Emil Jannings, was shown at Reade’s Strand Theatre in Perth Amboy.
April 23: Josephine Krysowaty, 11, who lived on Neshanic Mountain and was stabbed 20 times, died at Somerset Hospital, making it a murder case.
April 24: It was reported more than 700 people of Plainfield and vicinity had pledged active support of the campaign for $500,000 for Muhlenberg Hospital in Plainfield.
April 24: Rutgers University’s relay athletes regained the Middle Atlantic States Championship in the annual Penn relay games in Philadelphia, Pa., by beating Johns Hopkins, New York University and Lafayette in the mile relay.
Brad Wadlow is a staff writer for MyCentralJersey.com
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The borough of Lawnside in Camden County will be honored with a historical marker from the New Jersey Historical Commission as part of the state’s Black Heritage Trail.
A ceremony unveiling the marker will take place at 10 a.m. Friday at Lawnside Borough Hall on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Road.
Marsharee Wright, aide to Lawnside Mayor Mary Ann Wardlow and long-time resident, said everyone is thrilled about the marker unveiling.
“We’ve invited the entire community and neighboring towns to come share the celebration with us,” Wright said.
Linda Shockley, president of the Lawnside Historical Society, said it’s “an extreme honor” for the borough to be included in the state’s program, especially as Lawnside is amid a year-long celebration of its centennial.
“It really lifts our profile and hopefully more people will understand and know what Lawnside is about and what it means in the nation,” Shockley said.
Lawnside was one of six sites selected in Camden County in 2024, including “The Point,” a historic Black neighborhood in Haddonfield. Its marker was unveiled last June.
During the ceremony, the borough’s history will be showcased, along with the original documents signed by Gov. A. Harry Moore in 1926, which made way for the borough’s creation.
Though there are many Black enclaves in South Jersey, the borough is the state’s only incorporated antebellum Black community. First known as Free Haven, and later Snow Hill, it was a stop on the Underground Railroad. Peter Mott built a three-floor dwelling in 1844 that was once part of sprawling farmland where he helped slaves escape.
Mott’s house, now owned by the Lawnside Historical Society, serves as an Underground Railroad museum.
See the Roxbury warehouse scouted by ICE as possible deportation site
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were in Roxbury recently apparently scouting a Rt. 46 warehouse as a possible migrant deportation facility.
Federal officials are considering abandoning plans for a controversial immigration detention facility in Roxbury, New Jersey, according to a June 18 report by The New York Times, prompting local leaders and state officials to declare a victory after months of legal and political opposition.
The proposed facility, a warehouse property purchased to serve as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center, faced intense criticism from local residents, environmental advocates and elected officials who argued the site was unsuitable for housing detainees.
In a joint statement issued Thursday, Gov. Mikie Sherrill and Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said the Department of Homeland Security appeared to be backing away from the project following legal challenges that halted development.
“Today the New York Times is reporting that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is backing down on its mass detention center in Roxbury,” the statement said. “That is a big win for public safety, for the township of Roxbury, and for New Jersey.”
According to the Times report, the Roxbury facility is one of seven ICE is planning to dispense with by transferring ownership to other federal agencies or selling them.
Opponents argued the warehouse was designed as a logistics facility and lacked the infrastructure necessary to support a large detention center. They also raised concerns about the potential strain on local water and sewage systems and the impact on environmentally sensitive land surrounding the site.
State officials said they joined Roxbury Township in court to challenge the project, contending that federal plans violated local regulations and posed risks to the community.
“DHS’s plans were always illegal,” the statement said. “The Roxbury warehouse is a logistics center fit for packages, not thousands of people.”
Rep. Rob Menendez said in a statement on Thursday: “We are working to confirm reporting that ICE is abandoning its Roxbury warehouse plans, but if true, this would be big news. From day one, we have fought to stop this facility, bringing together thousands of New Jerseyans in opposition. Now we are on the cusp of an important win for our state.”
The detention center was expected to become part of the federal government’s broader immigration enforcement and detention network. However, the project became a flashpoint in New Jersey, drawing opposition from both local officials and residents concerned about public safety, environmental impacts and the facility’s compatibility with surrounding land uses.
Federal officials have not publicly confirmed whether the property will be sold or formally removed from consideration. The Department of Homeland Security has not commented on the reported change in plans.
Opponents vowed to continue monitoring the situation until the project is officially terminated.
“This isn’t a partisan issue,” the statement said. “We’re grateful for our partnership with the Roxbury community as we keep DHS’s feet to the fire to ensure this facility is never opened.”
New Jersey
NJ rabbi faces lawsuit for sexual assault after giving financial aid | The Jerusalem Post
Avraham Appel, of Jackson, abused his position as a trusted community leader to sexually assault and exploit the woman, an Israeli immigrant who came to him as a single mother struggling to pay bills, according to the lawsuit, filed in the Superior Court of Ocean County.
Appel is a prominent rabbi and Rosh Kollel, or head of a Jewish institute for advanced Talmudic study, who is based in Lakewood and Jackson, according to court papers filed January 5.
Appel did not respond to calls to his home and cellphone seeking comment on the lawsuit.
The woman claims she confided in one of her children’s schoolteachers in early 2020 that she was in significant financial distress and having trouble paying for daycare.
The teacher suggested she contact Appel, according to the suit.
In February 2020, Appel arranged to meet with the woman at a local Starbucks.
“During that meeting, Appel presented himself to (the woman) as a rabbi, mentor, advisor, and friend whom (the woman) could trust, confide in, and depend on,” the lawsuit states.
Appel, who had experience in real estate, allegedly offered the woman an opportunity to solicit investments on his behalf and to “draw,” or advance, money against future commissions.
Rabbi issues payments to woman after alleged sexual assault
In June and July 2022, Appel issued six payments to the woman, totaling $20,000 and characterized as advances or loans. He also provided the woman with “financial assistance” so she could buy groceries and pay medical expenses and water bills, according to the suit.
The lawsuit claims most of the money was meant to buy the woman’s silence after he attacked her on June 1, 2022.
The suit alleges Appel visited the woman while she was alone at home and sexually assaulted her as she pleaded for him to stop.
“Appel was abusive and unrelenting. The more (the woman) pled for mercy, the more aggressive Appel became,” the suit alleges.
Before leaving her home, he allegedly ordered her to delete Ring camera footage that showed him arriving.
In the months after the assault, Appel “forced himself upon” the woman and took sexual advantage of her on other occasions, the suit claims.
Appel also allegedly bombarded the woman with demands for sexual acts and sent her a barrage of text and WhatsApp messages containing crude and graphic sexual content.
“I want to squeeze your breasts,” one text allegedly said. In another, he sent the woman a photo of his penis, the suit alleges.
In July 2024, the woman met with another rabbi and shared evidence of the sexual assault and “other incidents involving Appel,” the suit claims.
Woman offered $50,000 for therapy after sexual assault
Appel later contacted his attorney and the two offered the woman $50,000 to cover her future therapy expenses.
The money would be available only if the woman signed a release of any claims related to the assault and agreed to keep all incidents between them confidential, according to the suit.
The woman refused to accept the money or sign the agreement, the suit says.
Appel then launched a campaign to destroy the woman “personally and professionally,” according to the lawsuit.
On December 15, 2025, the woman became aware of a website with her photos that claimed she was “a danger to all Jews,” and warned the public to stay away from her, according to the complaint.
The website disclosed the woman’s address, claimed she stole money, and characterized her as a “thief.”
Moreover, Appel and possibly others posted signs smearing the woman. The signs were posted at public locations throughout the community, including the school her two children attended, the suit alleges.
The lawsuit claims sexual assault, invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation, and conspiracy.
The complaint also alleges Appel breached his duty as a rabbi to conduct himself with loyalty and in good faith.
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