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Jewish Center Bomb Threat Suspect Is Arrested in Israel Jewish Center Bomb Threat Suspect Is Arrested in Israel
(about 2 hours later)
JERUSALEM — The police on Thursday arrested an Israeli teenager who holds American citizenship in connection with waves of threats to Jewish institutions, including community centers in the United States, law enforcement officials said. JERUSALEM — A Jewish teenager in Israel made a wave of threats to Jewish institutions in the United States and other countries in recent months, contributing to widespread fears of a spike in anti-Semitism, law enforcement officials said, after an international investigation culminated on Thursday in the arrest of the man, whose lawyer said he suffered from a brain tumor that affects his behavior.
A spokesman for the police here, Micky Rosenfeld, said the suspect, from the Ashkelon area of southern Israel, had also made threats to institutions in Australia and New Zealand, as well as to at least one commercial airline flight, forcing an emergency landing. A spokesman for the police here, Micky Rosenfeld, said the 18-year-old suspect, who holds dual Israeli and American citizenship and lives in the Ashkelon area of southern Israel, had made threats to Jewish community centers and other sites in the United States, Australia and New Zealand, and to at least one commercial airline flight, forcing an emergency landing. His motives were not immediately clear.
“This is the guy we are talking about,” Mr. Rosenfeld said.“This is the guy we are talking about,” Mr. Rosenfeld said.
The authorities did not immediately identify the teenager, who they said was Jewish and in his late teens. His motives were not immediately clear. A judge ordered the suspect, who has not been charged, held until at least March 30, ordered a medical examination and imposed an order of silence forbidding Israeli authorities to release his name.
On Thursday, a judge ordered the suspect held until at least March 30 and imposed a gag order, forbidding the Israeli authorities to release his name. “He suffers from a brain tumor that may have had an effect on his cognitive functions,” his lawyer, Galit Bash, said in a statement released by the Office of the Israeli Public Defender. According to Israeli news media, Ms. Bash told the court that the suspect had not gone to regular schools since first grade, and had the tumor for several years. He has no criminal record, the statement said.
The arrest appeared to be a turning point after months of investigation and waves of turmoil and panic as Jewish community centers across the United States reported more than 100 bomb threats since the beginning of the year. The calls, which President Trump condemned during an address to Congress last month, led to evacuations and bomb sweeps and heightened worries about anti-Semitism in the United States. While most Israelis are drafted into military service, the man was rejected, which Ms. Bash said was because of his medical condition.
It was not immediately clear how many of the calls investigators had traced to the teenager. Israeli news reports said that when the man was arrested, he tried to grab an officer’s gun. In his brief court appearance, the suspect, wearing khaki cargo pants, bowed his head and pulled his shirt up to conceal his face.
The wide-ranging, multinational inquiry was hampered by what the authorities described as the suspect’s use of “advanced camouflage technologies” to try to mask the communications, which he made through the internet. The technology shielded the caller’s identity and also disguised the voice that threatened carnage. Police also arrested the suspect’s father, who was ordered held for eight days, on suspicion that he might have been aware of the threats, or even been involved, but he denies any knowledge, the public defender’s office said.
When the Israeli police searched the suspect’s house, investigators confiscated computers, an antenna and other equipment, and an American official said it appeared the man had used Tor, a widely available anonymity software, to try to mask his whereabouts. The software is used by a wide range of people, from people conducting illicit business on the so-called dark web to activists trying to avoid government censorship or surveillance. The arrest appeared to be a turning point after months of investigation and waves of turmoil and panic, as Jewish community centers across the United States reported more than 100 bomb threats since the beginning of the year. The calls, which President Trump condemned during an address to Congress last month, led to evacuations and bomb sweeps and heightened worries about anti-Semitism across the country.
A Missouri man was arrested this month and charged with making some of the recent anti-Semitic threats. But other acts, like the vandalizing of Jewish cemeteries, were apparently committed by others, still unidentified. It was not immediately clear how many threats investigators had traced to the teenager.
“We are troubled to learn that the individual suspected of making these threats against Jewish community centers, which play a central role in the Jewish community, as well as serve as inclusive and welcoming places for all — is reportedly Jewish,” Doron Krakow, the chief executive of the JCC Association of North America, said in a statement released by the group, whose leaders were briefed by the F.B.I.
But Jonathan A. Greenblatt, chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League, insisted that the threats should still be considered acts of anti-Semitism, “calculated to sow fear and anxiety, and put the entire Jewish community on high alert.”
“Even though it appears that the main culprit behind the majority of these attacks has allegedly been identified, anti-Semitism in the U.S. remains a very serious concern,” Mr. Greenblatt said in a statement released by his group. “No arrests have been made in three cemetery desecrations or a series of other anti-Semitic incidents involving swastika graffiti and hate fliers. JCCs and other institutions should not relax security measures or become less vigilant.”
Critics of President Trump have tied him to a rise in hate crimes, pointing to his anti-immigrant remarks, and accusing him of not condemning attacks swiftly or strongly enough. But on Feb. 28, in a meeting with state attorneys general, Mr. Trump suggested that some of the threats and vandalism could be a politically motivated effort to “make people look bad,” rather than actual bigotry, according to people who took part in the meeting — a comment that troubled Jewish leaders and people who track hate crimes, who saw it as playing down real dangers.
Despite the arrest on Thursday, “we hope our elected officials will directly confront the wave of hate violence that we’ve seen since the election,” said Heidi Beirich, the director of the Southern Poverty Law Center Intelligence Project.
The wide-ranging, multinational inquiry that led to the arrest was hampered by what the authorities described as the suspect’s use of “advanced camouflage technologies” to try to mask the communications, which he made through the internet. The technology shielded the caller’s identity and also disguised the voice that threatened carnage.
When the Israeli police searched the suspect’s house, investigators confiscated computers, an antenna and other equipment, and an American official said it appeared that the man had used Tor, a widely available anonymity software, to try to mask his whereabouts. The software is used by a wide range of people, including those conducting illicit business on the so-called dark web and activists trying to avoid government censorship or surveillance.
In Washington, F.B.I. officials confirmed the arrest. In a statement, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who described the threats as “hate crimes,” said, “The Department of Justice is committed to protecting the civil rights of all Americans, and we will not tolerate the targeting of any community in this country on the basis of their religious beliefs.”In Washington, F.B.I. officials confirmed the arrest. In a statement, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who described the threats as “hate crimes,” said, “The Department of Justice is committed to protecting the civil rights of all Americans, and we will not tolerate the targeting of any community in this country on the basis of their religious beliefs.”
The Israeli police said the F.B.I. was deeply involved in the inquiry, which also drew the attention of police and security agencies around the world.The Israeli police said the F.B.I. was deeply involved in the inquiry, which also drew the attention of police and security agencies around the world.
“The investigation began in several countries at the same time, in which dozens of threatening calls were received at public places, events, synagogues and community buildings that caused panic and disrupted events and activities in various organizations,” the Israeli police said in a statement.“The investigation began in several countries at the same time, in which dozens of threatening calls were received at public places, events, synagogues and community buildings that caused panic and disrupted events and activities in various organizations,” the Israeli police said in a statement.
Israel Radio reported that the man had used wireless internet from neighbors, and the newspaper Haaretz reported that the suspect had not been drafted for compulsory military service, like most Jewish 18-year-olds, because the military found him unfit to serve. Israel Radio reported that the man had used wireless internet from neighbors.
The case in Israel is separate from that of the St. Louis man who was arrested this month and accused of making at least a half-dozen other threats to Jewish centers. In a complaint in Federal District Court in Manhattan, the authorities said that man, Juan Thompson, had acted as part of an effort to intimidate a former girlfriend.The case in Israel is separate from that of the St. Louis man who was arrested this month and accused of making at least a half-dozen other threats to Jewish centers. In a complaint in Federal District Court in Manhattan, the authorities said that man, Juan Thompson, had acted as part of an effort to intimidate a former girlfriend.