NJ governor pardons heroic Orthodox Jew on last day in office

The act of pardoning Glick “sends a deeply troubling message at a time when all faith communities are facing heightened threats and deserve assurance that the law will be applied fairly and consistently,” terror-tied CAIR said in a statement.

By Dinah Bucholz, Jewish Breaking News

On his last day in office, outgoing New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy included Moshe Glick in a group of 148 pardons he granted before handing the reins to Mikie Sherrill, the newly elected governor of the state.

In November 2024, Glick, an Orthodox Jew, protected an elderly Jewish man attempting to enter a synagogue that was hosting an Israeli real estate event and a memorial for a rabbi.

A violent pro-Palestinian protest blocked worshippers from entering, blowing horns and confronting the organizers.

Police charged the 53-year-old dentist with aggravated assault, weapons offenses, and biased intimidation after what they alleged was a strike to the aggressor’s head with a steel flashlight.

The man reportedly required four staples to close a head wound. However, Glick said the attacker was choking the elderly man, and had he not intervened, the result could have been catastrophic.

“The charges against Moshe were meritless,” Glick’s attorney, Michael Bachner, said.

“What began as an act of defending a person from violent assault outside of his synagogue has ended with the truth prevailing. This prosecution was a gross overreach, selective prosecution, and an attempt to criminalize Jewish self-defense amid rising antisemitism.”

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi filed a lawsuit against the protesters, alleging they attacked worshipers that evening in a direct violation of the FACE Act, which prohibits harassment, intimidation, and obstruction at clinics and houses of worship.

“No American should be harassed, targeted, or discriminated against for peacefully practicing their religion,” she said in a statement.

“Today’s lawsuit underscores this Department of Justice’s commitment to defending Jewish Americans, and all Americans of faith, from those who would threaten their right to worship.”

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) of New Jersey took a different view of the pardon. Some state governments, like Texas and Florida, have accused CAIR of ties to terrorist organizations such as the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas.

The act of pardoning Glick “sends a deeply troubling message at a time when all faith communities are facing heightened threats and deserve assurance that the law will be applied fairly and consistently,” CAIR said in a statement.

“This is not about politics—it is about principle,” the group added.

“Selective accountability, especially in cases touching public safety, weakens confidence in our justice system. The prosecutors were doing the right thing, and Governor Murphy stifled justice from taking its course. Our state must be clear: no one is above the law, and no community’s safety or dignity is expendable.”

Nevertheless, Glick celebrated the pardon in a statement.

“I am profoundly grateful and relieved to share that the baseless charges brought against me by rogue prosecutors in Essex County have been dropped in my favor,” he said.

“What began as an act of defending a fellow Jew from violent assault outside our synagogue has ended with the truth prevailing.”