Across America a spree of coordinated bomb threats and hate crimes targeting Jewish community centers, schools, and graveyards are being reported.  There have been so many incidences of anti-Semitic vandalism and anonymous threats in the past week it is dizzying.

All across the United states +20 Jewish community centers were targeted with bomb threats in the past 72 hours, this includes Jewish day schools.  I’ll repeat, these anonymous hate mongers are calling in bomb threats to places where children are going to school.  According to the ADL this brings the total of bomb threats against the Jewish community in America to more than 90 incidents since the start of 2017.

These acts are unconscionable, and the absolute height of cowardice.

Michael Bryant | For The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP

Two Jewish cemetaries in different US cities have been desecrated in the last two weeks.  This past weekend a Jewish cemetery was vandalized in Philadelphia.  CNN reports: “Between 75 and 100 tombstones were overturned and damaged Saturday night at the Mt. Carmel Cemetery in the Wissinoming neighborhood (PA).  No Christian cemeteries in Philadelphia were reported vandalized, and a very similar atrocity was perpetrated on a Jewish cemetery in St. Louis the weekend before.

Feb. 18th-19th in a Jewish Cemetery in University City, St. Louis, vandals toppled more than 150 headstones. That particular graveyard dates to 1893.  In Florida, The Miami Herald is reported that vandals keyed swastikas on several cars in a Jewish neighborhood in Miami Beach over the weekend.

One of several cars vandalized with swastikas in Miami. (Source: Oralia Ortega/Twitter)

In the Bay area, several Jewish institutions were targeted. The San Francisco Anti Defamation League received a bomb threat Monday evening and had to be evacuated (a similar threat was made to the ADL office in NYC).  The Mercury News reported a bomb threat made to the Oshman Family Jewish community center in Palo Alto, and CBS reported that employees at a Foster City Jewish community center were forced to evacuate the building Saturday morning after an alleged bomb threat.  This is following a rash of bomb threats targeting Jewish institutions all across America.

Fox News reported more than a dozen bomb threats to Jewish community centers and schools on the East Coast on Monday, before a similar rash of threats were made in the Western states as well.

The JSL quoted CEO Jonathan A. Greenblatt of ADL following the most recent bomb threat in San Francisco, “One threat or evacuation is one too many, and yet we’ve now seen more than 20 incidents in a single day not just to ADL, but to children’s schools and community centers — and more than 90 incidents since the start of this year,”  “The level of threats and incidents is astounding, and must not stand. We will do everything in our power to combat this wave of anti-Semitism.”

The rise in hate crimes in this country since the Trump inauguration is both sickening and alarming.  We can only hope that in the face of this reckless and dispicable hate, we can find ways to become more united.  It was heartening last week when the Muslim community in St. Louis came out to support the victims of the Jewish cemetery vandalism. In fact as of today the Muslim lead coalition has raised over $140k to help repair the cemetery.

These acts of terror, perpetrated by cowards in the dark must be overcome, and we hope they will serve as a means to galvanize forces of good, forces of unity, love, and respect.  Forces that stand up to bigotry and resentment, forces who do not lose hope in the face of ignorance and hate.

Let’s make sure our FBI and Attorney General are doing there jobs.  Because whoever it is carrying out these acts of terror needs to be brought to justice as quickly as possible.

TELL THE ATTORNEY GENERAL: RESPOND TO ANTI-SEMITIC THREATS AND HATE CRIMES.

Demand attorney General Jeff Sessions
“We are asking for immediate actions that will curb anti-Semitic threats and all hate crimes in our schools and communities.”

Help the ADL make sure our new Attorney General Jeff Sessions sees the gravity of this situation.  Make your voice heard by signing the petition HERE.