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Over 100 Bomb Threats Have Been Made Targeting Jewish Centers and Schools in the First Two Months of the Year

byTheodora Moldovan
March 2, 2017

On Monday, Feb. 27, Bernie Sanders addressed the crowd at the 2017 J Street Conference, calling the liberal advocacy group “a strong voice for saner, more progressive foreign policy ideas”.

Mr. Sanders began his speech by noting “that in the last several months, since Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential race, there has been a significant outbreak of anti-Semitism here in our country. I am very alarmed by the desecration of Jewish cemeteries, with Jewish Community Centers being threatened around the country, and with the headquarters of the Anti-Defamation League receiving a bomb threat last week.”

The former presidential candidate was not there to talk about anti-Semitism in America, but rather how peace could be achieved in the Middle East, an issue that he believes the Trump administration is tackling rather terribly. “[…] when President Trump was given an opportunity to condemn the bigotry and anti-Semitism that has arisen in the wake of his election, he chose to respond by bragging–incorrectly, by the way–about the size of his Electoral College victory. Our society is still riven by tensions from the campaign, and Americans need a president who will try to bring us together, rather than boast about his political victory,” he said.

On Jan. 27, President Trump released a Holocaust Remembrance Day statement, in which the Holocaust was described as “horror inflicted on innocent people by Nazi terror,” without any mention of either anti-Semitism or Jews. The statement was met with criticism from the Anti-Defamation League for not containing any clear reference to Jews.

The ADL found last fall that 14 percent of Americans, or 34 million people, harbored anti-Semitic attitudes.

During the month of January, 48 Jewish Community Centers in 26 states received nearly 60 bomb threats. A number of JCCs received multiple threats. On Feb. 20, that number rose to 68 bomb threats in 53 JCCs after a wave of bomb threats across the country.

The following day, Mr. Trump denounced the JCC bomb threats and anti-Semitism. “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,” he said.

Steven Goldstein, executive director of the Anne Frank Center, tweeted angrily that the belated remarks were a mere “Band-aid on the cancer of anti-Semitism that has infected [Trump’s] own administration.”

“A total of 29 bomb threats were made on Monday, targeting Jewish centers, schools and one Anti-Defamation League office on both U.S. coasts in 16 states,” Haaretz reports.

The 16 states are Alabama, Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia and Washington. 

As of Mar. 1, 108 bomb threats have been made against 86 locations, according to ProPublica, who is tracking all of them.

“Two attacks on Jewish cemeteries in the last week have resulted in an outpouring of more than $136,000 in donations from thousands of Muslims and others, who have also pledged to financially support Jewish institutions if there are further attacks,” The New York Times reports.

Here is how to donate.

Author
Theodora Moldovan
Theodora is the junior editor at Affinity Magazine. Previously, she was a member of The New York Times Learning Network Student Council, and is currently an editor at Polyphony H.S., a literary magazine.
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