The New York headquarters of the Anti-Defamation League was targeted in a bomb threat on Wednesday morning. A statement from the ADL indicated that the threat, like those leveled nearly 70 times at JCCs across the United States in recent weeks, was a hoax.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo instructed state police to investigate the anonymous threat. “We are treating these incidents for what they are – as crimes – and we will not allow them to go unpunished,” Cuomo said. “Today I have directed the New York State Police to coordinate with federal and local law enforcement to launch a full investigation into this latest incident. Make no mistake, we will find these perpetrators and hold them fully accountable for their actions.”
Also Wednesday, the Lerner Jewish Community Day School in Durham, North Carolina, was evacuated after a receiving a robocall bomb threat.
On Tuesday, the Lawrence Family JCC in La Jolla, in the San Diego area, was also evacuated due to a bomb threat sent by email. The San Diego police department swept the building, and fund no explosives. The same JCC had been evacuated on January 31 after receiving a bomb threat along with 16 other JCCs in the US.
These incidents occurred following a tense long weekend of anti-Semitic incidents. On Monday, 11 Jewish community centers across the country were evacuated after bomb threats were called in the fourth major wave of such threats in five weeks.
The threats have largely targeted JCCs, 54 of which received a total of 69 bomb threats so far this year.
On Tuesday, more than 170 headstones in a St. Louis Jewish cemetery were toppled, prompting an outcry of condemnation.
Following the incident, World Jewish Congress (WJC) President Ronald S. Lauder on Tuesday warned that anti-Semitism in the United States was on the rise and called on the authorities on all levels to take appropriate measures to combat it.
“We sincerely hope that there will be a strong and decisive reaction by the authorities at all political levels to combat it. This is not merely a problem for the Jewish community, it’s a problem for America as a whole,” Lauder said. He urged law enforcement authorities to do their utmost to apprehend the perpetrators and to bring them to justice.
The WJC president added: "It is equally important that political leaders in Washington and on the state and local levels speak out and condemn such vile acts. I know that President Trump and his administration will take all necessary steps on the federal level to address this problem.
US President Donald Trump condemned the threats as “horrible” and “painful.” "This tour was a meaningful reminder of why we have to fight bigotry, intolerance and hatred in all of its very ugly forms. The anti-Semitic threats targeting our Jewish community and community centers are horrible and are painful and a very sad reminder of the work that still must be done to root out hate and prejudice and evil," Trump said.
