>> Tonight, addressing the nation.

President Biden urges the U.S. to stand with Israel as Israel readies for a ground assault in Gaza.

>> Making sure Israel and Ukraine succeed is vital for America's national security.

>> Law enforcement tightens security measures at New Jersey synagogues and mosques as protests intensify.

>> It feels scary to be Jewish right now.

>> Islamophobia against Muslims, people are scared.

>> Plus, suing the school.

A father files a federal lawsuit against the Cherry Hill district and the state over its policy from protecting chance gender students.

>> This interferes with his right of his kids.

>> And a new lease on life.

>> This is the People's Park.

>> First phase to restore and upgrade one of the state's most popular parks.

Nj Spotlight news begins right now.

>> Funding is provided by members of the New Jersey education Association, making public schools great for every child, RWJ Barnabas health and Orsted, committed to the creation of a new long-term clean energy future for New Jersey.

♪ >> From NJ PBS, this is NJ Spotlight news.

>> Thanks for joining us.

The Biden administration formerly asked Congress for billions of dollars in emergency aid for Israel and Gaza which the president says will provide military help and humanitarian assistance.

There is funding included for conflicts in Ukraine and elsewhere.

The request was made during a rare primetime Oval Office speech, Thursday night and comes as the Israeli Prime Minister's office confirmed, Hospital East two American -- Hamas released two American hostages, a mother and daughter from Chicago.

Humanitarian workers worn the shortage of fuel, food and Walker have created life or death situations in Gaza and trucks are being held up in Egypt.

President Biden called the need to help Israel defend itself and the innocent civilians trapped in the deadly war an inflection point in American history.

>> It's a smart investment that will pay dividends to Americans for generations.

Reporter: The president made his case for a $100 billion foreign a package, most of it intended to fund military operations in Ukraine and Israel, emphasizing America needs to lead the fight against terror, he renewed U.S. commitment.

>> These are smart investments that will pay dividends for generations.

We will continue to guard the skies over Israel.

We will make sure other hostile actors know that Israel is stronger than ever.

Reporter: A Somerset County resident has family in Israel and says they welcomed the support and that aid package.

He has cousins serving in the Israeli Defense forces.

>> There is a sense of revenge and rage.

Most people in Israel don't want innocent people to die.

Reporter: Only the second primetime address to the nation from Biden, came after he visited Tel Aviv.

He spoke of Israeli grief and anger.

Biden also addressed the plight of Palestinians caught in the retaliation and blockade of supplies.

>> The U.S. remains committed to the Palestinian people's right to dignity and self-determination.

The actions of Hamas don't take that away.

We mourn every innocent life lost.

We cannot ignore the humanity of innocent Palestinians who want to live in peace.

>> They are not trying to get rid of Hamas.

They are ethnic cleansing and doing genocide.

>> She lives in Clifton, her dad is in northern Gaza.

He has dual citizenship but won't leave his family.

She criticizes the aid to Israel.

>>>> They are sending billions to Israel, basically harming more Palestinian civilians.

You are giving money to the people who are hurting us.

>> The $106 billion request ties together aid for military aid to Ukraine, $14 million for the aid to Israel and $9 million of humanitarian aid.

He negotiated with Egypt to permit truckloads of food, water and medicine safely into Gaza, but he did not call for the Cease Fire demanded by protesters and some members of Congress.

Palestinians and Jewish communities across the nation have reported a spike in hate crimes including a six-year-old Palestinian boy stabbed to death outside Chicago.

Biden denounced the violence.

>>>> We cannot stand silent when this happens.

We must without equivocation denounced antisemitism.

We must denounce Islamophobia.

Reporter: He said this remains his highest priority, as thousands gathered in times square.

>> Alongside, more than 200 others, my mom is being held visit hostage in Gaza.

Reporter: What happens next?

The aid package is a political hostage.

Briana: Jewish and Palestinian places of worship in the state are concerned the war will lead to antisemitic and Islamophobia attacks at home.

The top law officials in New Jersey say there are no credible threats.

Security is being tightened around mosques and synagogues.

Ted Goldberg report.

>> I would never have thought growing up this would be what being a Jew in America would look like.

Reporter: The war has led Jews in New Jersey to worry anti-Semitism could rear its ugly head.

>> It is those payoff conversations you have with yourself.

Am I wearing things out in public?

>> She is the executive director for a temple in Bluefield, attacked by a man with a Molotov cocktail in January.

No damage was done thanks to security measures.

The Attorney General says there are no direct threats to houses of worship in the state but synagogues are installing cameras, hiring armed security and keeping police around.

>> We had a huge interfaith rally with partners.

There was an ending.

Now what we are seeing is sustained fear.

>> When you see someone for the first time, the question is and how are you but how are you holding up?

>> Lucy is the senior Cantor in Short Hills.

>> The feeling Jews are under threat, not get simplified -- when that gets amplified, it become so loud that even if you know your kids are safe rationally, it feels scary to be Jewish in the world right now.

>> They are no stranger to anti-Semitism.

Last month, during Rosh Hashanah, someone called the police and threatened the synagogue.

Services had to be held in the parking lot until police could figure out the threat was baseless.

>> Coming together is an act of sacred defiance.

People are seeking to exterminate us or snuff out that experience of Jewish communal joy, the best way we can stand up to that is to continue to engage in Jewish life.

>>>> Community centers are on high alert.

The JCC upgraded cameras eight months ago and you need a key fob to enter.

>> We will go about our business.

We will provide programs and services for thousands of businesses.

We will adjust our level of security and enhance it.

>> There is supported.

They came to our community.

>> Omar leads a mosque and Islamic center in Bridgewater.

>> Protection.

Also people sing, wife?

-- why?

>> He says the Muslim community is on edge, reminding him of 9/11.

>> Now, suddenly this happens.

>> He is concerned people will get in trouble for posting pro-Palestinian content on social media.

>> That is not America.

>> Palestinians are being arrested for protesting the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.

They are losing their jobs.

>> Earlier, the community spoke in Clifton about the hardships they faced since the war started.

>> Our community has become a target of hate, injustice and exclusion throughout the country.

>> We reached out to the leaders of several other mosques for comment but we did not hear back.

Even if there are no active threats, that is cold comfort for people worried about anti-Semitism or Islamophobia.

Briana: Those fears of reprisal and biased attacks adding to the mental toll the war is taking on loved ones in New Jersey.

Jewish and Palestinian leaders in the state say communities are suffering, combating feelings of despair, helplessness and exhaustion.

Our mental health writer looked into how religious and local officials are taking extra steps to offer care and comfort.

Bobby Brier joins.

Great to have you back.

Whether you are directly connected, reading the headlines from afar -- there is so much pain here.

These are horrific stories and images.

What did you hear from community leaders you spoke to about what people are grappling with?

Bobby: The grief, pain, fear and a sense of helplessness among so many in New Jersey right now is immeasurable.

The community and religious leaders I spoke to have pointed to the need for folks to be in community right now.

Be around people who are going through a similar experience, especially for those with family in the region, whether they are still in the region or returning home.

It is so important for people to be amongst each other, speaking about issues and to continue to have ongoing conversations.

Briana: Americans are not only among those who died in the Hamas attack, but there are folks who are hostages.

There are New Jerseyans trapped in Gaza.

That type of anxiety, not being able to get in touch with family, how do they even begin to remedy the level and severity of crisis this is?

Bobby: Community leaders and religious leaders, mental health professionals pointed out it is an extremely difficult time I now.

Some resources offered to cope with this have been things like pastoral care, a type of counseling that offers mental health support with compassionate listening in addition to spiritual resources.

There have also been open forums where large groups of people gather to vent and voice how they are feeling.

That is a form of healing.

That has been offered by both community and religious leaders throughout the state.

Briana: What about for families?

It's inevitable, the media coverage is everywhere.

There is misinformation out there.

What is the recommendation for folks who have young children who may see this and have questions?

How do you tackle such a big issue and keep their mental health intact?

Bobby: Medical professionals throughout the state I've spoken to have pointed to the fact that families and children need a break from the social media they are seeing, to ration their exposure or limit it.

While they are doing that, to have conversations about what they are seeing in the news.

People gain a better understanding, one professional called it a better sense of the education of the issues going on, in order to have a better idea of what to look at and look for.

These are issues that are continuing to come up for families everyday.

Most people have a cell phone right now and are seeing these images.

Whether it is taking a break from social or having a robust conversation, the two biggest things families and children can be doing right now.

Briana: It sounds like religious leaders are keeping their doors open extrawide right now people can get in touch.

Bobby: Absolutely.

Briana: Thank you.

Really important topic.

Cherry Hill is the latest hotspot in the battle over parental notification policies, where a father of three high school students is suing the state to block a policy aimed at keeping schools from notifying parents of a change in their child's sexuality or gender identity.

The federal lawsuit comes as more districts hold critical votes about parental rights.

>> It would be weird for my son to go to school the first day as a freshman, talk to a guidance counselor, change his name, but say, hypothetically from Dennis to Denise and not me know it for four years.

>> He filed suit against the Cherry Hill district and the New Jersey Department of Education over guidance school district adopt policies to protect gender identity or sexuality of a student who has not come out to the parents.

>> The constitutional basis is this infringes on the 14th amendment due process rights to direct the medical care and health care decisions of their children.

We are contending the plaintiff, the parent in this instance, who has three children in Cherry Hill high school, this policy interferes with his right to direct care and upbringing, the medical decisions of his kids.

Reporter: He has two older daughters and says his son has never indicated he is transgender or LGBTQ.

>> I would know.

He would tell me.

Reporter: He is concerned in the early weeks of school -- >> May be a meeting with his counselor, maybe she would want to change his name or something.

Reporter: You have not felt the same concern about your daughters?

>> No because, well, I was more or less thinking about it for my son.

I don't know why.

He was a freshman.

Reporter: The New Jersey public education coalition says this case could mirror one recently brought in the Fourth Circuit federal Court of Appeals in Maryland.

>> The court ruled the parents who filed did not have standing and they dismissed the case because the parents didn't have children who were members of the transgender community.

>> If the case moves forward, he points to case law that could be used to defend the state.

>> While the Supreme Court has established parents rights are important, there is an entirely different line of cases that deal specifically with child's rights and with the duty of a state and the state interest in safeguarding the physical and psychological well-being of a minor.

Reporter: He says that is what the policy 5756 is intended to do.

>> They have sustained legislation aimed at protecting the physical and emotional well-being of youth, even when it is a sensitive area of constitutionally protected rights.

Reporter: He intends to argue children can be harmed psychologically when they live a "double life."

>> Whereby they conceal their gender identity from their parents, that rarely leads to a positive psychological outcome, near or long term.

Reporter: Christian says it is all about timing for young people.

>> This is about ensuring all students have a safe environment at school.

These policies ensure our young people grow up in a healthy way, then share and reveal who they are, to who they feel comfortable with when the time is right.

Reporter: The state and Cherry Hill have two weeks to respond to the suit in court.

Briana: After being hit with violations from the state AG's office, five towns agreed to fix their websites for discriminating against LGBTQ+ residents applying for a marriage license.

The state contends the towns at one point published marriage forms online, limiting them with language to heterosexual couples, and had restricted gender options to only female and male, forcing non-binary residents to miss gender themselves.

The municipalities agreed to create policies that prohibit discrimination, remove limiting language from their websites and train employees on the state discrimination law.

Liberty State Park is getting a makeover.

The first phase of a revitalization project started this week to clean up a large section of the park that has been off-limits to the public because of contamination.

A senior political correspondent, David Cruz, reports the most visited Park in the state is still in the crosshairs of developers, who want to commercialize the waterfront land.

>> 1, 2, 3.

Reporter: The groundbreaking marketing the first phase of the liberty Park restoration attracted former governors and would-be mayors and would-be mayors and would-be mayors.

The actual Mayor was a no-show but the presence of all the local politicos underscored how this state park and what happens next to it is of heightened local interest.

The work announced by the DEP yesterday will begin a major transformational period for the park which already attracts 4 million visitors per year.

>> Space, phase one A is the cleanup, over 200 acres, some of which is polluted land that needs cleaning.

There is phase 1b which is our immediate, art and cultural development.

Then there is phase two in the southern part of the park.

Reporter: It is that Park that has drawn attention from residents and formed the creation of the People's Park foundation, funded by Paul Fireman, who has long eyed parkland at Kaven point for expansion.

The director has a long history as a coach and recreation advocate in the city.

>> The legend himself Bob Hurley.

>>'s vision of a park with large-scale sports facilities and arenas has been thwarted but he seemed to be nodding to the foundation when he used the phrase -- >> This is the People's Park.

>> Several times.

>> I am not speaking of any organization.

I'm speaking to the reality, the legal fact that every single natural resource in the state doesn't belong to the government .

It belongs directly to the people.

All of the people.

Reporter: After the groundbreaking, the public was invited to check out and give input toward the future phases of the park's restoration and upgrades.

Jessica designed the empty sky memorial at the park and was hopeful after the look around.

>> There are two aspects of liberty State Park.

The historical, cultural aspects, that are in this train terminal, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, the memorial.

There's also the nature aspects.

Those things could very well intertwine with the work the Murphy administration is bringing forth.

There is great opportunity.

Reporter: A councilwoman has watched the debate about the future from the west side of the city.

She says this event marks an important step forward.

>> The best way to get people to come together is exactly what we are doing here today.

You have a big platform.

You throw out ideas, so everyone feels their voices heard.

Everyone knows I am a big proponent of parks and public art spaces.

I'm excited to see some inclusion of that.

I don't necessarily think we need an amphitheater, but a place where you can have live performances, they are already doing.

>> The vibe was so positive, one lawmaker, whose own nonprofit has received Fireman money, promised more state funding.

>> We have a task force.

I am the proud sponsor of the Liberty State Park task force, attached with money.

>> Who knows what the future holds for phases yet to come?

The state won't always have $50 million to toss its way, and there are forces with money standing by to make it available for the right parcel of land.

Briana: New Jersey is setting up a trade office in Taiwan.

Governor Murphy and the first lady made a visit to Taiwan today as part of a nine-day economic mission to East Asia, having stopped in Japan and South Korea, to deepen the state's academic and economic ties there.

The new office will open in Taipei city in 2024, under choose New Jersey, the nonprofit economic development organization.

Murphy is the first sitting governor to visit Taiwan and touted the generation administration of generation.

During the trip, Governor Murphy agreed to other missions on education, along with health care and trade agreements.

Stocks fell today with all three indices taking it.

Here's how the markets closed.

Tune in this weekend.

Raven Santana looks at emerging trends in the health care industry in New Jersey including competition between primary care physicians and health centers, and why one local hospital chose to switch to a nonprofit model.

Watch Saturday and Sunday.

That will do it for us tonight.

Make sure you check out a special edition of Chat Box with David Cruz this weekend.

David teams up with Carlos Medina to celebrate Hispanic heritage month in conversations with chefs, artists and more amplifying Latino voices across New Jersey.

Watch Saturday and Sunday right here on NJ PBS.

That does it for us.

For the entire team, thanks for being with us.

Have a great weekend.

See you here Monday.

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>> Are future relies on more than clean energy.

Our future relies on empowered communities to help the safety of our families and neighbors, of our schools and streets.

The PSEG foundation is committed to sustainability, equity and economic empowerment, investing in parks, helping towns go green, supporting civic centers, scholarships and workforce development that strengthen our community.

♪