(JNS) A fund set up by a group of Orthodox Jewish leaders from the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, N.Y., to benefit the family of Det. Joseph Seals, who was killed in the line of duty on Dec. 10 in Jersey City, N.J., raised $50,000 in less than 24 hours. Originally, organizers were hoping to raise $25,000 from members of the Jewish community to show their appreciation to the officer who gave his life to save others. Seals was killed by two attackers early on Tuesday afternoon at the Bayview Cemetery in Jersey City. The suspects, a man and a woman, then drove approximately one mile to the JC Kosher Supermarket in the city’s Greensville section, home to a significant population of religious Jews where they shot and killed three more people.

      “We as a community need to take a moment and recognize the sacrifices that law-enforcement professionals are making all across the country to secure our shuls, our synagogues, our JCCs, our yeshivahs, our day schools. … These are human beings with families; and in this case, Detective Seals has a wife and five children,” said Jewish community leader Chaskel Bennett, a co-founder of the civic and political group Flatbush Jewish Community Coalition (FJCC), who spearheaded the campaign with fellow Flatbush community leaders Leon Goldenberg and Moshe Wulliger.

“The fear Jews now feel didn’t begin with this terrible incident. The antisemitic attacks against our community have been escalating for a while now, and we have been sounding the alarm,” explained Bennett. However, “the response by people to donate more than $48,000 in 18 hours speaks to the overwhelming desire for people to be part of something positive in the midst of such pain. From the depths of our sorrow, the very best of our people shines through.”