Joelle Fredman
WMAL.com
MARYLAND — (WMAL) Jewish Day Schools in Montgomery County and Fairfax County became the newest targets in a wave of bombs threats to Jewish centers around the country.
The Gesher Jewish Day School in Fairfax received a bomb threat over the phone shortly after 9 this morning. Police responded and cleared the scene.
Shortly afterwards the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville received the phone call. Again police cleared the scene and classes resumed.
“It’s incredibly disturbing to receive a threat such as this,” Principal Rabbi Mitchel Malkus said. “Part of what we need to do is to advocate and to reach out to our elected officials and work with them to ensure that we determine who is behind this, and second that there are precautions or measures put in place to bring down the tension level that exist the country right now.”
The Bender Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington in Rockville sent the following to its members today:
“We remain vigilant and are determined to continue to serve as a safe and welcoming place for everyone in our community – providing Jewish education, day camping and community for our families with young children, health and fitness programs for our members, and wellness and socialization opportunities for our seniors. Despite the fear and disruption that some are trying to impose on Jewish communities across the country, we will not be deterred. We stand firmly on the side of community in its broadest and most inclusive sense.”
The Anti-Defamation League reports additional threats came in today to Jewish Community Centers in North Carolina, Florida, Alabama, Michigan and New York.
The incidents also come after Jewish cemeteries in Missouri and Pennsylvania were vandalized.
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