LA JOLLA, California (SDJW)– The Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center evacuated preschoolers, members, and staff for an hour and 45 minutes Tuesday, Jan. 31, after receiving a telephoned bomb threat. It was one of multiple bomb threats phoned to JCC’s around the country.
The threat was received at 9 a.m., and “after a careful sweep of the building by San Diego police our building reopened at 10:45 a.m.,” said Michael Cohen, the LFJCC executive director.
“While this threat is being investigated, we continue to take numerous security measures to ensure the safety of our members and guests,” Cohen added.
The situation was much the same at the Jewish Community Center in Boulder, Colorado, which evacuated all the people in its building and its Early Childhood Center.
Jonathan Lev, the executive director of the Boulder JCC, noted that the facility is “part of a national network, Secure Community Network [SCN] – an affiliate of the Jewish Federations of North America, that monitors, advises, and supports the safety and security of Jewish Institutions.
“In response to these recent threats across the country, we have been working closely with our local police department, Security Team, security guards, and national security agencies to monitor the situation and review our protocols,” Lev added. “We have been continually briefed by SCN, ADL (Anti-Defamation League), and the JCC Association to help us understand the circumstances and support our safety and security efforts.”
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Preceding is a San Diego Jewish World staff report.
The Anti-Defamation League issued this comment:
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is organizing local security trainings in partnership with the FBI in the wake of a series of bomb threats against Jewish Community Centers, including a new wave of threats earlier today targeting communal institutions in at least eight states.
While so far no bombs have been found in any of the threats, ADL has been closely monitoring the situation and has been in regular contact with federal and local law enforcement agencies across the country.
In a third wave of such incidents targeting JCCs, a series of apparently coordinated bomb threats were reported earlier today in California, Colorado, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, New Mexico, Utah and Wisconsin, adding to at least 30 previous threats called in to JCCs earlier this month.
“Unfortunately, threats like this are nothing new for the Jewish community,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL CEO. “Still, it is vitally important to take these threats seriously and to ensure that every institution is prepared to respond to this type of security emergency. That is why we are partnering with the FBI, local institutions and law enforcement to ensure that all of our community institutions are safe and secure.”
Last week, ADL organized a joint security briefing in partnership with the FBI. Nearly 700 representatives of Jewish community institutions participated in the call, which provided expertise, tips and resources to the Jewish Federations of North America, Jewish Community Centers, Chabad, the Orthodox Union, the North American Association of Synagogue Executives, the National Association for Temple Administration, Campus Hillels, and other Jewish communal institutions from across the country.
In addition to security preparedness trainings, ADL regional offices have been sharing security resources, including its security manual Protecting Your Jewish Institution, to help communities prepare for and respond to potential threats.
The San Diego regional office of the Anti-Defamation League made this comment:
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) expressed deep concern about reports of bomb threats at several Jewish Community Centers (JCCs) across the United States today – including here in San Diego – and has been working closely with the Jewish community, FBI and local law enforcement to respond.
In a third wave of such incidents, bomb threats were reported in California, Colorado, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, New Mexico, Utah and Wisconsin today, adding to at least 30 previous threats called in to JCCs earlier this month. Law enforcement are investigating the incidents. So far, no explosives have been found.
“Unfortunately, such threats are not new to the Jewish community,” said Tammy Gillies, ADL San Diego Regional Director. “While each of these threats must be taken seriously, and excellent preparation is key to a good response, bomb threats are most often not credible and are usually used as scare tactics in order to disrupt an institution’s operations, and to cause fear and panic. At this juncture, none of these threats appear to be credible.”
Mrs. Gillies added, “We have also been in touch with San Diego’s Jewish institutions to notify them of these threats and provide them with information and resources to enhance their security protocols.”
The League commended the San Diego JCC for recently conducting drills to prepare for this situation, and thanked local law enforcement for their rapid response and attention to this incident.
ADL regional offices have been sharing security resources, including its security manual Protecting Your Jewish Institution, to help communities prepare for and respond to potential threats.