Jewish Community Center Bomb Threats List: Which JCCs Have Been Threatened?

(Getty)

(Getty)

Juan Thompson was arrested today in connection with Jewish Community Center bomb threats, but his arrest only accounts for a small percentage of the bomb threats that have been made against JCCs in January and February. This means that other people have also made threats who haven’t yet been caught. Which JCCs were threatened? We’re providing a state-by-state list below of where many of the threats occurred. The calls were typically made between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. local time, and some sounded like they were prerecorded. However, on February 27, some calls were made that night on the West Coast and in the southwest. JCCs in at least 21 states have received threats and more than 100 threats have been made nationwide since early January.

According to the FBI, Thompson is suspected in eight threats against JCCs. This only accounts for a small percentage of the total threats in January and February. Most of Thompson’s threats were phoned in to the New York area.

“I’ve been in the business for 20-plus years, and this is unprecedented,” Paul Goldenberg, national director of the Secure Community Network, which advises Jewish organizations on security, told CNN. “It’s more methodical than meets the eye.”

In addition to the threats, two Jewish cemeteries were vandalized. At the Chesed Shel Emeth Society cemetery, more than 200 headstones were damaged. And more than 100 gravestones were damaged at the Mt. Carmel Cemetery in Philadelphia.

The FBI and the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division issued a statement on February 27 saying it was “investigating possible civil rights violations in connection with threats to Jewish Community Centers across the country.”

The centers that received threats are listed in alphabetical order by state below. So far, at least 21 states have reported threats in January, according to a press release from the JCC Association. These states include: Alabama, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington. If you know of any community centers that received threats and aren’t listed here, let us know in the comments below.


Alabama JCC Bomb Threats

A Jewish Community Center in Birmingham, Alabama received a bomb threat on January 18. The center was evacuated. Another threat was made to the Birmingham community on February 20. Then on February 27, the Levite Jewish Community Center received a bomb threat at 8 a.m. Police responded but couldn’t find anything suspicious.

Betzy Lynch, executive director of the center, told Al.com: “Obviously it’s incredibly disconcerting, the wave of antisemitism that’s coming across the country. … (N)ow the threats seem to be going beyond just Jewish community centers into obviously Jewish cemeteries, and into Jewish day schools, and it just seems to be escalating.”


Arizona JCC Bomb Threats

On February 27, a threat was phoned in to the Sun Jewish Community Center in Scottsdale, Arizona that evening. The threat was described as “vague.”

Also that day, the JCC in Tucson was put on lock down after a vague threat was called in about something happening in the parking lot, KGUN-TV reported. This call was also made in the evening.


California Jewish Community Center Bomb Threats

On Jan. 18, a bomb threat was phoned in to a Jewish Community Center in Marin County. Everyone was evacuated, including children at a nearby preschool. The call was automated and sounded like it was coming from a computer-generated voice. Jeremy Russell of the Jewish Community Relations Council in San Francisco told NBC Bay Area:

We don’t know what’s going on. There are a lot of unknowns. We are very concerned about the existence of these calls and the literal threat they are imposing on the community. We will be responding appropriately.”

Reports of a JCC bomb threat in California on January 9 might be the result of people getting a bomb threat in Florida confused with California. We haven’t yet been able to track down a specific threat in the state of California from Monday, January 9, despite seeing tweets about a California threat. But in Florida, one of the bomb threats was reported at a JCC off San Jose Rd., which might be a source of some of the confusion.

A threat was phoned into a JCC in California in July, in Foster City. This happened at the Peninsula Jewish Community Center. The building was secured that afternoon.

Then on February 27, a number of threats were made. The Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center in La Jolla, California, received a bomb threat and was evacuated that afternoon,  Fox 5 San Diego reports. This was the center’s third threat in just a few weeks. The Oshman Family Jewish Community Center in Palo Alto, California also received a bomb threat on Feb. 27 in the evening.

And the Merage Jewish Community Center of Orange County in Irvine, California was evacuated for a bomb threat that same day.


Connecticut JCC Bomb Threats

On January 18, two Jewish Community Centers received bomb threats. These were the JCC of Greater New Haven in Woodbridge and The Mandell JCC West Hartford. Then on February 27, the Hebrew High School of New England, in West Hartford, Connecticut, received a bomb threat at 10:43 a.m., West Hartford police said in a press release.


Delaware Jewish Community Center Bomb Threat

In New Castle, Delaware, a bomb threat was called in just before noon on January 9 to the local Jewish Community Center, the Tennessean reported. The Jewish Press reported that this bomb threat was phoned in to the Siegel Jewish Community Center north of Wilmington around 11:45 a.m. The caller said the bomb was somewhere inside the complex. Everyone from four facilities at the site were evacuated: the JCC, the Jewish Federation of Delaware, the Albert Einstein Academy, and Jewish Family Services of Delaware. Another threat was called in a second time, later that month.

Then on February 27, the Siegel Jewish Community Center in Wilmington received yet another threat and was evacuated, WDEL reports.


Florida Jewish Community Centers’ Bomb Threats

In Florida, a new bomb threat was called in on January 18 to the Miami Beach Jewish Community Center. This was the center’s second false bomb threat in two weeks. The call came just before 10 a.m. and the building was briefly evacuated.

In Florida, four cities’ Jewish Community Centers also reported bomb threats on Monday morning on January 9, the Tennessean reported. These were Jacksonville, Tampa, Orlando, and Miami Beach.

The first Miami bomb threat was phoned in on Monday morning, Jan. 9, and police gave an all clear around 11 a.m. No devices were found at any of the locations. As a precaution, about 450 students and 70 teachers and staff were evacuated from Alper JCC School, The Jewish Press reported. Police were also called to the Jewish Community Center in Pine Tree at Miami Beach.

In Jacksonville, a JCC off San Jose reported a bomb threat.

On February 27, David Posnack Jewish Day School in Davie, Florida received a bomb threat at 9:20 a.m. Students were let back inside at 11:30 a.m.


Indiana Bomb Threat

On February 27, the JCC in Indianapolis received a bomb threat but no explosives were found,  the Indy Star reports. Like most of the other threats, it came in at 10:40 a.m.


Maryland Jewish Community Centers’ Bomb Threats

In Maryland, a bomb threat was called into a Rockville, Maryland JCC on Jan. 9, the Tennessean reported. The threat was leveled against Bender Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington,The Jewish Press reported. The building was evacuated, but an all clear was later issued.

A bomb threat was also reported at a Baltimore, Maryland Jewish Community Center on Park Heights Avenue on Jan. 9. The threat was called in around 11:46 a.m., CBS Baltimore reported. The center was briefly evacuated, and reopened around 2 p.m. once the threat was found to be unsubstantiated, Baltimore Jewish Times reported.

Then on February 27, Rockville, Maryland’s Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School was evacuated after a morning bomb threat, the Washingtonian reports. No explosives were found.


Massachusetts JCC Bomb Threat

A threat was phoned in to Newton, Massachusetts on January 18. The local center was evacuated after a suspicious phone call.


Michigan Jewish Community Center Bomb Threats

In Michigan, Detroit police investigated a threat against a JCC in West Bloomfield in January. Bomb sniffing dogs did not find anything. Then on February 27, the Jewish Community Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan received a bomb threat, MLive.com reported. Staff and students were evacuated and no explosives were found.


Minnesota JCC Bomb Threat

On January 18, the Sabes JCC in St. Louis Park was briefly closed due to a bomb threat. This was just outside of Minneapolis. The campus was evacuated and law enforcement was investigating.


New Jersey Jewish Community Centers Bomb Threats

In Tenafly, the JCC on Palisades sent out a text alert about a bomb threat that it received shortly after noon on Jan. 9, NBC New York reported. A preschool, senior center, and adult daycare facility were evacuated. An all clear was given later.

On January 18, centers in Scotch Plains were the subject of bomb threats. A similar threat was issued to a JCC in Edison, which led to evacuating both a YMCA and a Middlesex County JCC.

Then on February 27, the Katz Jewish Community Center in Cherry Hill was evacuated for a bomb threat. No explosives were found,  Philly.com reported.


Nevada JCC Bomb Threat

Bomb threats have also been reported in Nevada. The Jewish Community Center of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas was evacuated after a bomb threat on the evening of February 27, KTNV reported.


New York JCC Bomb Threats

A New York Jewish Community Center received a bomb threat on January 18. This one was in Albany, New York, and the center was later reopened. An additional threat was sent to a center in Dewitt, near Syracuse. This call came in just before 10 a.m. local time to CNYCentral.

Three JCCs on Staten Island, New York were evacuated for a bomb threat on February 27, the Staten Island Advance reports. No bombs were found in Sea View, Arden Heights, and Tompkinsville, Ruth Lasser. The call to Sea View came from a man and mentioned that bombs would go off in two hours.

Another threat was called in to the Jewish Community Center of Mid-Westchester in Scarsdale at 11 a.m. on Feb. 27, the Daily Voice reports.. And yet another one was called in to Hudson, Tarrytown, New York’s JCC, The Journal Progress reported.


North Carolina Bomb Threat

Also on February 27, Asheville, North Carolina’s JCC was evacuated for a bomb threat that morning, the Asheville Citizen-Times reports. Executive Director Lael Gray said: “We were very, very well prepared for this because we know these other calls have been coming in across the country. It was a very orderly evacuation.”


Ohio Jewish Community Center Bomb Threat

The Mayerson JCC in Amberley Village in Ohio also received a bomb threat on January 18. This JCC is located just outside of Cincinnati. The center was later given an all clear.


Pennsylvania Bomb Threats

At 10:30 a.m. on February 27, the Jewish Community Center in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania received a bomb threat via a phone call, PennLive.com reports. Police evacuated the school and day care, searched the building, and found nothing.

“Any anti-Semitic act or act of intimidation aimed at Jewish institutions and people in Pennsylvania is truly reprehensible and we must find those responsible and hold them accountable. This is not who we are as Americans or Pennsylvanians,” Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf said in a statement. “We will not take these threats and acts lightly and I have asked the Pennsylvania State Police and Office of Homeland Security to offer their full resources towards protecting these institutions and finding those responsible.”

Also on February 27, a threat was made to the York Jewish Community Center in York, Pennsylvania, causing the center to be evacuated. It was reopened around noon. According to PennLive.com, the threat came from a robotic voice that sounded male.

The Perelman Jewish Day School and Kaiserman Jewish Community Center in Wynnewood also received bomb threats on February 27, Philly.com reports. Students and staff were evacuated and nothing was found.


Rhode Island Bomb Threat

On February 27, a bomb threat was called in to the Jewish Alliance of Greater Providence in Rhode Island, NBC 10 News reports. This threat came from an automated call.


South Carolina Jewish Community Centers’ Bomb Threats

Columbia, South Carolina also received a bomb threat to the Katie and Irwin Kahn Jewish Community Center on Flora Drive on Jan. 9, WISTV reported. The threat was called in just before 11:30 a.m. Police found nothing.


Tennessee Jewish Community Centers’ Bomb Threats

In Nashville, a threat was phoned in around 10:30 a.m. to the Gordon Jewish Community Center at 801 Percy Warner Blvd. on Jan. 9, the Tennessean reported. About 100 people were evacuated. Police gave an all clear about two hours later.


Virginia Bomb Threat

On February 27, a bomb threat was called in to the Gesher Jewish Day School in Fairfax, the Washingtonian reports. Students and staff were evacuated and a search turned up nothing.


Washington Bomb Threat to JCC

A JCC in Mercer Island, Washington received a bomb threat on Feb. 27 and no bombs were found, Q13 Fox reports.


Threats Outside the U.S.

Threats were bomb threats also reported in the United Kingdom on January 9. In London, threats were called in to schools in Roehamptom, Ilford, and Brent. All the threats reported bombs in the buildings, prompting the schools to be evacuated, the Tennessean reported.

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