At least 21 Jewish institutions received bomb threats across the country Monday just days after Jewish cemeteries were desecrated in St. Louis and Philadelphia.
There were no bombs found and all of the affected institutions returned to normal operations by the late afternoon, according to jta.org.
Secure Community Network Director Paul Goldenberg praised the response of employees for minimizing the disruption caused by the threats.
“Our Jewish schools and our [Jewish Community Centers] continue to train for this, continue to execute well-placed measures,” Goldenberg said. “The goal of these people is to wear us down, but we are back in our schools, we are back in our JCCS.”
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The threats mark the fifth such wave of bomb threats against Jewish institutions this year. In total, the JCC Association of North America says 89 bomb threats have been called to 72 Jewish institutions in 30 different cities in the country and one Canadian province.
No bombs have been found at any of the institutions.
The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI have begun working to identify the people responsible for the threats
Yesterday’s threats came one day after 539 headstones were damaged at a Jewish cemetery in Philadelphia.
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