2017 Jewish Community Center bomb threats
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In early 2017, a wave of more than 2,000
bomb threat A bomb threat or bomb scare is a threat, usually verbal or written, to detonate an explosive or incendiary device to cause property damage, death, injuries, and/or incite fear, whether or not such a device actually exists. History Bomb threat ...
s were made against
Jewish Community Center A Jewish Community Center or a Jewish Community Centre (JCC) is a general recreational, social clubs, social, and Fraternal and service organizations, fraternal organization serving the Jewish community in a number of cities. JCCs promote Jewish ...
s in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, and Denmark. Two arrests and two convictions were made in connection with the threats: Michael Ron David Kadar, a dual American-Israeli citizen, who received a ten year sentence, along with
Juan M. Thompson Juan M. Thompson (born 1985) is a former American journalist who was later convicted for cyberstalking and making several bomb threats to Jewish Community Centers in the U.S. Personal background Thompson is a native of St. Louis, Missouri. ...
, a former journalist, who received a five year sentence.


Theories

Jerry Silverman of the
Jewish Federations of North America The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), formerly the United Jewish Communities (UJC), is an American Jewish umbrella organization representing 146 Jewish Federations and 300 independent Jewish communities across North America, which rais ...
said the threats were part of a "coordinated effort" to intimidate American Jews. In February, during an interview on
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...
, U.S. Congressman
Jerrold Nadler Jerrold Lewis Nadler (; born June 13, 1947) is an American lawyer and politician who since 2013 has served as the U.S. representative for , which includes Manhattan's west side and parts of Brooklyn. A member of the Democratic Party, he is in ...
said that some supporters of
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
were responsible for the threats. Trump denounced the JCC bomb threats and anti-Semitism, and said that this may be a case of someone trying to make others look bad. In an
op-ed An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page", is a written prose piece, typically published by a North-American newspaper or magazine, which expresses the opinion of an author usually not affiliated with the publication's editorial board. O ...
for ''
The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...
'', deputy editor Tricia Bishop said the threats represent a growing attitude of racial intolerance in the United States, but probably no specific group or person was responsible for the threats. She implored readers to "stand up ... before it's your children they come for".


Perpetrators

In March 2017, two persons were arrested on separate charges of making a number of the bomb threats:


Israeli-American man

A 19-year-old Jewish
Israeli-American , native_name_lang = , image = , caption = , population = 110,000–150,000 , popplace = New York metropolitan area, Los Angeles metropolitan area, Miami metropolitan area, and other large metropolitan are ...
named as Michael Ron David Kadar, was arrested in March 2017 in
Ashkelon Ashkelon or Ashqelon (; Hebrew: , , ; Philistine: ), also known as Ascalon (; Ancient Greek: , ; Arabic: , ), is a coastal city in the Southern District of Israel on the Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border with ...
, Israel and charged with responsibility for "dozens" of the threats. Kadar had earlier been rejected from enlistment in the
Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...
due to
mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...
issues. According to Israeli police, Kadar had used "advanced technologies" to disguise his voice and mask the fact the calls were originating from Israel. According to court documents, Kadar allegedly advertised on the
dark web The dark web is the World Wide Web content that exists on ''darknets'': overlay networks that use the Internet but require specific software, configurations, or authorization to access. Through the dark web, private computer networks can communi ...
the service of threatening any school for $30. Kadar's defense attorney said he has a brain tumor, which may have influenced his behavior. He was suspected of threatening over 2,000 different institutions in the US, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia including the Israeli Embassy in Washington, the Israeli consulate in Miami, schools, malls, police stations, hospitals and airlines. His threats reportedly caused fighter jets to be scrambled, planes to dump fuel and make emergency landings, and schools to evacuate. In April 2017, an indictment against Kadar was filed in an Israeli court charging him with several crimes including an attempt to extort a United States senator, "publishing false reports causing public panic, conspiring to commit a crime, hacking computers to commit a crime, and violations of money-laundering laws". In the same month, a similar indictment was filed against him in a federal court in Florida charging him with 28 crimes, and he was separately charged with 3 additional crimes in a federal court in Georgia. Israeli authorities reportedly refused to extradite him to the US, preferring to try him in Israel. In June 2018, he was convicted on hundreds of counts including charges of extortion, publishing false information that caused panic, computer offenses, and money laundering. In November 2018, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison, plus a fine and 1 year probation. Kadar was not named in Israeli courts because he was tried as a minor, but he was identified in indictment papers issued by the US. He would have been sentenced to 17 years if not for his mental issues: autism spectrum and paranoid delusions. Described as highly intelligent, his crimes earned him $240,000 in
Bitcoin Bitcoin ( abbreviation: BTC; sign: ₿) is a decentralized digital currency that can be transferred on the peer-to-peer bitcoin network. Bitcoin transactions are verified by network nodes through cryptography and recorded in a public distr ...
, worth over $1 million at the time of the sentence. Kadar refused to hand over the password to his Bitcoin
digital wallet A digital wallet, also known as an e-wallet, is an electronic device, online service, or software program that allows one party to make electronic transactions with another party bartering digital currency units for goods and services. This can ...
.


African-American journalist

Juan M. Thompson Juan M. Thompson (born 1985) is a former American journalist who was later convicted for cyberstalking and making several bomb threats to Jewish Community Centers in the U.S. Personal background Thompson is a native of St. Louis, Missouri. ...
, a former journalist for ''
The Intercept ''The Intercept'' is an American left-wing news website founded by Glenn Greenwald, Jeremy Scahill, Laura Poitras and funded by billionaire eBay co-founder Pierre Omidyar. Its current editor is Betsy Reed. The publication initially reported ...
'', was charged with responsibility for at least eight of the incidents. According to media reports, Thompson had called in the threats in an attempt to frame a woman whom he had previously dated. According to the
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
, the woman had been the subject of previous harassment by Thompson, which included an alleged attempt by him to falsely report her for possession of
child pornography Child pornography (also called CP, child sexual abuse material, CSAM, child porn, or kiddie porn) is pornography that unlawfully exploits children for sexual stimulation. It may be produced with the direct involvement or sexual assault of a chi ...
. On 13 June 2017, Thompson pleaded guilty to sending bomb threats to Jewish community centers.


See also

*
2016 Australian school bomb threats A large number of Australian schools received hoax bomb threats in late January and early February of 2016.Novakovic, C 2016, ‘44 Australian schools receive bomb threats in one week’, School Governance, 4 February, viewed 29 September 2020, ...
* 2018 Bitcoin bomb threats


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jewish Community Center bomb threats, 2017 Antisemitic attacks and incidents in the United States March 2017 crimes in the United States Jewish Community Centers in the United States