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Bomb threats continue to rise in numbers against faith-based, Jewish organizations around the nation. Bomb threats were called into multiple Jewish community centers, as well as 17 schools, adding to the growing threat facing the Hasidic community.
Local media and police have reported threats like these in states such as Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Michigan, Alabama, Maryland, Indiana, Virginia, Connecticut, Rhode Island, California, Arizona, Washington and Nevada.
The latest rash of threats is the fifth since the beginning of 2017, which is a drastic increase from 2015, with only one being reported over the course of two months.
President Trump’s staff and White House deputy press secretary Lindsay Walters made an official comment at the February eighth press secretary stating, “…Hatred and hate-motivated violence of any kind have no place in a country founded on the promise of individual freedom…The President has made it abundantly clear that these actions are unacceptable.”
According to an article from the National Review, the most reliable data on hate crimes comes from the FBI, which shows that the number of people victimized for their religion declined dramatically from 2010 to 2014: from 1,552 victims to 1,140 victims, or by 36 percent. The number of victims of anti-Jewish bias declined similarly: from 1,039 to 648 victims, or by 38 percent. The FBI then records an uptick in 2015, to 1,402 total victims and 730 victims of anti-Jewish bias.
As leaders from the Jewish congreations gather to talk about the rise of anti-semitism this coming March, they still sit in fear that the next threat could be real.
Hayley Bono – Hofstra University
Monday, Feburary 27th, 2017
WatchDog 