At least 17 Jewish community centres across the United States have been targeted with bomb threats in the third wave of such mass disruption this month.
Paul Goldenberg, the director of Secure Community Network — an affiliate of the Jewish Federations of North America that advises Jewish groups and institutions on security — said the threats were called in late Tuesday morning. Some of the messages were live, he confirmed.
“[I]n the past we know that the numbers can grow exponentially,” he said, adding that perpetrators have been “leveraging technologies to make mass calls.”
VIDEO: @albanypolice spokesman @APDSmith answers questions about today's bomb threat at #Albany Jewish Community Center, which is cleared. pic.twitter.com/OrvBM8iTkS
— Emily Masters (@emilysmasters) January 31, 2017
Goldenberg confirmed that threats had been called into Jewish community centres in Albany, New York; Syracuse, New York; West Orange, New Jersey; Milwaukee, San Diego and Salt Lake City.
He added: “Our Jewish community centres are focusing on security today more than ever before, and in spite of these continuous bomb threats I’m confident that our institutions are taking security seriously — and in many cases Jewish institutions are more secure than institutions frequented by the general public.”
On 18 January some 30 Jewish institutions in at least 17 states received bomb threats. On 9 January such threats were called into 16 Jewish community centres across the Northwest and South, forcing the evacuation of hundreds.
Source: JTA
Police respond to a bomb threat at Albany JCC pic.twitter.com/yh4OwlSn0X
— will waldron (@willwaldron) January 31, 2017
