Sens. want Trump admin to respond to JCC threats

Washington — The entire U.S. Senate signed on to a letter Tuesday, led by Michigan Sen. Gary Peters and three others, urging the Trump administration to take “swift action” in response to recent bomb threats made at Jewish community centers, day schools and synagogues around the country.

The message came as the JCC Association of North America reported Tuesday that several more JCCs received bomb threats by phone or email overnight and Tuesday morning.

The bipartisan letter, addressed to Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and FBI Director James Comey, called the threats “deeply troubling” and “un-American,” and asked that the officials inform the lawmakers of what they plan to do to address threats against religious institutions.

“These cowardly acts aim to create an atmosphere of fear and disrupt the important programs and services offered by JCCs to everyone in the communities they serve, including in our states,” the senators wrote, led by Peters and Bill Nelson of Florida, both Democrats, as well as Republican Sens. Rob Portman of Ohio and Marco Rubio of Florida.

“We are concerned that the number of incidents is accelerating and failure to address and deter these threats will place innocent people at risk and threaten the financial viability of JCCs, many of which are institutions in their communities.”

As of last week, the JCC Association of North America had reported 100 bomb threats against JCCs and Jewish day schools at 81 locations in 33 states in January and February. Those include threats to the JCC of Metropolitan Detroit on Jan. 18, to the Hillel Day School in Farmington Hills on Feb. 1 and to the Hebrew Day School of Ann Arbor on Feb. 27.

The senators also expressed concern about the desecration of headstones at Jewish cemeteries in St. Louis and Philadelphia.

David Posner, director of strategic performance at the association, has pleaded with Congress and the White House to speak out “forcefully” against the anti-Semitic acts.

“Actions speak louder than words. Members of our community must see swift and concerted action from federal officials to identify and capture the perpetrator or perpetrators who are trying to instill anxiety and fear in our communities,” Posner said in a statement last week.

The senators encouraged Sessions, Comey and Kelly to communicate with individual JCCs and other Jewish schools and institutions about victim assistance and grants for federal assistance that might help enhance security at the sites.

“We also recognize the anti-Semitic sentiment behind this spate of threats and encourage your departments to continue to inform state and local law enforcement organizations of their obligations under the Hate Crime Statistics Act and other federal laws,” the senators wrote.

The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America applauded Peters and the other senators for their call to end the threats.

“In the words of the senators themselves, these threats are utterly unacceptable and un-American, and must be stopped at once,” said Nathan Diament, executive director of public policy for the Orthodox Union.

A week ago, President Donald Trump made his strongest remarks to date in condemning the threats against JCCs and other Jewish institutions during his speech to a joint session of Congress.

“Recent threats targeting Jewish community centers and vandalism of Jewish cemeteries, as well as last week's shooting in Kansas City, remind us that while we may be a nation divided on policies, we are a country that stands united in condemning hate and evil in all of its very ugly forms,” Trump said.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer echoed those comments Tuesday in response to the latest wave of threats.

“It is incredibly saddening that I have to continue to share these disturbing reports with you, and I share the president's thoughts that he fervently hopes that we don't continue to have to share these reports with you. But as long as they do continue, we will continue to condemn them and look at ways in which we can stop them,” Spicer said.

Last week, authorities arrested a former journalist, 31-year-old Juan Thompson, in St. Louis for making at least eight of the threats against Jewish institutions. Federal officials said Thompson started making threats Jan. 28, and authorities are continuing to investigate the others.

mburke@detroitnews.com

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