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Jewish Center Bomb Threat Suspect Is Arrested in Israel Jewish Center Bomb Threat Suspect Is Arrested in Israel
(about 3 hours later)
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. 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 fears of a spike in anti-Semitism, law enforcement officials said on Thursday after the man was arrested.
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. The 18-year-old suspect, who holds dual Israeli and American citizenship, suffers from a brain tumor that can affect his behavior, his lawyer said.
An Israeli police spokesman, Micky Rosenfeld, said that the man, who 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, prompting an emergency landing. The authorities did not offer a motive.
“This is the guy we are talking about,” Mr. Rosenfeld said.“This is the guy we are talking about,” Mr. Rosenfeld said.
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. A judge ordered the suspect, who has not been charged, held until at least March 30 and ordered a medical examination. The 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. The father denies any knowledge of the threats, his lawyer said. The judge imposed an order of silence forbidding Israeli authorities to release either man’s 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 teenager, who was born in Israel, has a brain tumor that can affect his cognitive abilities and lead to “irrational” behavior, but he has no criminal record, his lawyer, Galit Bash, said. She refused to say whether her client had admitted or denied involvement.
While most Israelis are drafted into military service, the man was rejected, which Ms. Bash said was because of his medical condition. Ms. Bash and the father’s lawyer, Eran Rau, who are both from the Office of the Israeli Public Defender, said the young man was an only child who lived with his parents and had been home-schooled, which is unusual in Israel.
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. While most Israelis are drafted into military service, the teenager was rejected, which Ms. Bash said was because of his medical condition. Israeli media reported that she said in court that he had the tumor since he was 14.
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. The father, an engineer in his early 50s, also has no criminal record, and was cooperating with investigators, Mr. Rau said. He said his client was concerned primarily with his son’s welfare, given his medical condition.
“This all seems very strange and preliminary to me,” Mr. Rau said.
Israeli news outlets reported that when the teenager 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 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.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. A Missouri man was arrested this month and charged with making some of the recent anti-Semitic threats. But some 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. On Thursday morning, the Federal Bureau of Investigation held a conference call with leaders of Jewish organizations to discuss the arrest. In the hours after the announcement, Joel Dinkin, the executive vice president of the Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center of Houston, said in an interview that it was “a little bit perplexing from the standpoint of the fact that it’s somebody Jewish.”
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.” But Jonathan A. Greenblatt, chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League, cautioned that many of the people responsible for anti-Semitic threats, vandalism and “a torrent of abuse online” remained at large. And even the threats attributed to the Israeli teenager, he said, should still be considered acts of anti-Semitism.
“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.” “The motive may have been unclear, but the impact was crystal clear,” Mr. Greenblatt said. “These were acts that terrorized a community just because of their faith.”
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. 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. 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. The comment 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. Despite the arrest, “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. The person who made the calls sent them through the internet, and used sophisticated software to disguise his location and camouflage his voice, which slowed the investigation, the authorities said. When the Israeli police searched the suspect’s house, investigators confiscated computers, an antenna and other equipment.
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. An American official said it appeared that the man had used Tor, a widely available anonymity software that masks a computer’s true whereabouts by routing its internet traffic through various points around the globe. Many people use Tor, which is managed by a nonprofit digital privacy group, including those conducting illicit business 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.”
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. The F.B.I. worked closely with Israeli intelligence on the investigation, starting in September — months before American organizations began to note a surge in threats to American targets, according to Cary Gleicher, the bureau’s top agent in Israel.
Some of the earliest American targets of bomb threats were schools, centers and museums in Alaska, Florida and New York that were affiliated with Chabad-Lubavtich, an Orthodox Jewish movement, according to a Chabad official. The movement did not publicize the threats, and they received little or no news coverage.
Mr. Gleicher said he met in early March in Washington with James B. Comey, the F.B.I. director, who asked about efforts to find the person making the threatening calls, and made it clear that he had “great interest in getting this thing done.” In mid-March, Mr. Comey met with Jewish leaders at bureau headquarters in Washington to brief them on the investigation.
“I left with a level of confidence that they were definitively making strides,” said Jerry B. Silverman, chief executive of the Jewish Federations of North America. “It was clear that they were moving at very rapid pace.”
The American-Israeli cooperation intensified last week, when the F.B.I. sent 14 people — both agents and technical experts — to Israel to assist in the investigation, Mr. Gleicher said in an interview from Israel.
“This was a big deal,” he said, adding that it took the resources of both countries to get “across the finish line.”
“Monday was the eureka moment,” he said, when investigators figured out who was making the calls.
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 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.