By Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO – A bomb scare delayed the opening of the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center on Tuesday, the same day local newspapers reported a dispute between the Military Religious Freedom Foundation and the Marine Corps Recruit Depot over the former’s request for permission to erect a menorah on the base next Chanukah.
Tammy Gillies, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, said she did not believe the bomb scare was related to the dispute at MCRD, but said neither could she comment whether it was part of the nationwide spree of anti-Semitism, including threats against other JCCs and the desecration of a Jewish cemetery in St. Louis, that were denounced by U.S. President Donald Trump as “horrible” and “painful.”
Gillies said that the ADL would seek to speak to authorities at MCRD to clarify the menorah situation. Concerning the JCC bomb scare, she disclosed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had compared notes with her about Tuesday’s incident.
The ADL regional director added that the Lawrence Family JCC staff responded in a very professional manner to the bomb threat, about which LFJCC Executive Director Michael Cohen reported: “Once the threat was received our staff followed practiced protocol and immediately safely evacuated the building and the San Diego Police arrived at the premises. After a careful sweep of the building by San Diego Police our building reopened at 7:00 am.”
In a prepared statement, Cohen went on to say:
As a JCC, we are part of a national 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 and national security agencies to monitor the situation and review our protocols. 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.
The entire Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center’s leadership team and staff continues to work together, practice safety protocols and are prepared to respond to this type of incidents with the support of local law enforcement, including our adjacent neighbors, the San Diego Police Department Northern Division.
While these threats are being investigated, we continue to take numerous security measures to ensure the safety of our members and guests.
It was the second time the JCC had received a bomb threat in recent weeks; on the last occasion it occurred while parents were arriving at the facility to pick up their children from pre-school.
On Tuesday, U.S. Marine Capt. Matthew Finnerty, the base public affairs officer at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, said the request for permission to erect a menorah on the base next Chanukah remains under review, as was reported on Tuesday by the San Diego Union-Tribune.
In an article by reporter Carl Prine, the base’s judge advocate general, Lt. Col Jeffrey Munoz was reported as saying on Feb. 10 that the request to build a menorah next Chanukah was “premature” because there was no Christmas crèche currently on the base and “the (next) holiday season is months away.”
In an interview with San Diego Jewish World, Mike “Mikey” Weinstein, founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, said that answer was unacceptable both to his organization and to the local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, which also has weighed in on the matter.
Last December, a crèche depicting the birth of Jesus was installed on the lawn outside the MCRD chapel, prompting requests that a menorah also be permitted next Chanukah. Weinstein said the request was made in behalf of 27 active duty and retired Marine Corps members, 20 of them members of the Jewish faith. He said the names of the people making the request were not revealed because they might face retaliation. Even the retired Marines could be cut off from base privileges, he said in an interview.
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Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com
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