The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) on Wednesday issued a security advisory to Jewish institutions nationwide following a series of bomb threats to Jewish community centers in at least 17 states. ADL said it is closely monitoring the situation and has been in touch with federal and local law enforcement across the country.
Federal authorities, for their part, say they’re investigating the threats. An FBI Washington headquarters statement Wednesday said the agency and the Justice Department’s civil-rights division are investigating “possible civil rights violations in connection with threats.” The statement did not specify the threats beyond their being a violation of civil rights (and not terrorism, for instance).
The ADL said it received reports of bomb threats at Jewish Community Centers in New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Florida, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Delaware, Connecticut, Alabama, California, Maine, Tennessee, South Carolina, Missouri, Texas and Kansas.
“Although so far these threats do not appear to be credible, we are recommending that Jewish communal institutions review their security procedures and remain in close contact with law enforcement,” said Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL CEO. “While each incident needs to be taken seriously and investigated closely, thus far we are not aware of any of these threats being substantiated.”
The ADL also issued an additional security advisory on reports from several companies and businesses around the country which have received anti-Semitic faxes in recent days.
For the benefit of our younger readers: a fax (short for facsimile), sometimes called telecopying or telefax (the latter short for telefacsimile), is the telephonic transmission of scanned printed material (both text and images), normally to a telephone number connected to a printer or other output device. A telephone is the instrument your parents used before the invention of the smartphone.