All 100 Senators Call on Agencies to Address Jewish Threats
The increasing frequency of threats made against Jewish institutions across the country has prompted all 100 U.S. senators to sign a letter appealing to the Trump administration to address this national concern. The letter was specifically addressed to the Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The threats, which all turned out to be hoaxes, have targeted Jewish Community Centers (JCCs), Jewish Day Schools, synagogues and other buildings affiliated with Jewish institutions over the past weeks. Jewish cemeteries have also been vandalized in Philadelphia and New York, according to Business Insider.
"We are concerned that the number of incidents is accelerating and failure to address and deter these threats will place innocent people at risk and threaten the financial viability of JCCs, many of which are institutions in their communities," the senators wrote.
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On Tuesday, bomb threats hit JCCs and day schools in Chicago, Milwaukee and New York's greater Rochester area. The Jewish civil rights organization Anti-Defamation League also received the same threat at all its locations in New York, Washington, Atlanta and Boston.
Early Wednesday morning, a JCC in West Hartford, Connecticut received a threat via email while another center in Louisville was evacuated after a threat was phoned in around noon.
"We've never seen such a period of concentrated threats against the Jewish community," New York Mayor Bill de Blasio told a press conference. "The last few weeks are more troubling than anything I've seen in many, many years."
The senators called the attention of DHS Secretary John Kelly, FBI Director James Comey and Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
"Your departments can provide crucial assistance by helping JCCs, Jewish Day Schools and synagogues improve their physical security, deterring threats from being made, and investigating and prosecuting those making these threats or who may seek to act on these threats on the future."
