Bomb threats were made to Jewish community centers in 16 cities across the northeast and southeast United States, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported Tuesday.
No explosive devices were found in any of the locations, but several buildings were closed and evacuated. They had all resumed operations by 4:30 PM.
Paul Goldenberg, the director of Secure Community Network, which is affiliated with the Jewish Federations of North America, said that the threatening calls were produced with voice-altering technology. Some calls were prerecorded and others were live. They likely all originated from the same location.
While the threats were likely intended to cause maximum disruption, Goldenberg said. “In the Northeast it’s 20 degrees outside and these individuals are doing everything they can to disrupt who we are and what we do,” he told JTA.
JCCs in New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Florida were affected.
Among the affected sites were the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades in Tenafly in northeast New Jersey, which evacuated the entire building, including a preschool, senior center and adult day care facility for people with disabilities, local media reported. In South Florida, the Miami Beach Jewish Community Center and Alper JCC in southwest Miami-Dade also were evacuated in the morning.
Other sites that were threatened included the Siegel JCC, north of Wilmington, Delaware; the preschools at the Tampa JCC and the Tampa Jewish Federation in central Florida; and the Jewish Community Alliance in Jacksonville, in northern Florida. All the facilities were searched and given the all-clear by authorities.
David Posner, director of strategic performance at the JCC Association of North America, commended JCC staffs. “We are proud of our JCCs and grateful for their professional staff, who in the face of threatened violence today, responded quickly, calmly and professionally by implementing well-practiced evacuation procedures and ensuring that no one was harmed,” he said in a statement.
The Anti-Defamation League expressed its concern over the incident.
“Unfortunately, such threats are not new to the Jewish community,” ADL National Director Jonathan Greenblatt said. “While each of these threats must be taken seriously, and excellent preparation is key to a good response, bomb threats are most often not credible and are usually used as scare tactics in order to disrupt an institution’s operations, and to cause fear and panic.”
Three Jewish schools in London also received phoned-in bomb threats, The Jewish Chronicle reported Monday. Two Jewish schools near Orlando received bomb threats last week.
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