Arrest of Israeli-American for bomb threats brings relief

UNITED STATES: The arrest of a young Israeli-American for dozens of bomb threats against American, New Zealand and Australian Jewish institutions sent relief through Jewish communities yesterday, but raised new questions about the threats and a broader rise in anti-Semitism.

Israeli police arrested the unidentified man on suspicion of phoning in the bulk of the bomb threats, which have hit more than 100 Jewish centres in the US since the beginning of the year.

The Anti-Defamation League has counted more than 150 hoaxes, causing shutdowns and evacuations of day schools. The man is also suspected of calling in a bomb threat against Delta Air Lines in early 2015.

While his arrest has been praised by US Jewish leaders, it has also perplexed them. Police said the man, who hid under his shirt when brought into a court south of Tel Aviv yesterday, is Jewish and holds Israeli and US citizenship.

His father was also arrested, and will be held for the next week, authorities said. His identity is also under a gag order.

‘‘We are troubled to learn that the individual suspected of making these threats against Jewish Community Centres, which play a central role in the Jewish community, as well as serve as inclusive and welcoming places for all . . . is reportedly Jewish,’’ said Doron Krakow, chief executive of the JCC Association of North America. The group represents the majority of community centres that have been targeted.

But, said Brian Levin, a hate crimes expert and professor at California State, San Bernardino: ’’It’s not always the stereotypical bigot. There are various types of offenders that commit these symbolic high profile acts, including the mentally unstable offender, those seeking personal benefit or revenge, thrillseekers, and those conflicted about their identity.’’

He expressed concern that the arrest of a Jewish suspect would embolden the very people most likely to carry out anti-Semitic acts.

‘‘Racists in the alt-right will play the ‘hate hoax’ angle of this from here on in,’’ Levin said.

Over the months, Jewish leaders have pressed US President Donald Trump to speak out against the bomb threats, with many suggesting that the president’s campaign activities and his initial reluctance to talk about the crimes have emboldened extremists.

During the campaign, Trump came under fire for retweeting white supremacists and anti- Semites, earning him support from the Ku Klux Klan and other hate groups. The president also was later criticised for purposely leaving any mention of Jews out of a statement observing the Holocaust, and for brushing off a question about anti-Semitism during a news conference as ‘‘insulting’’.

Under pressure, Trump opened his first speech to a joint session of Congress by denouncing the ‘‘hate and evil’’ of the threats and recent vandalism of Jewish cemeteries, and also earlier spoke about antiSemitism during a visit to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Authorities said Israel’s special investigations and cyber units had been investigating the threats for the last three months with the FBI and police officials from Australia, New Zealand and Europe.

Police said the man, a resident of Ashkelon in southern Israel, used computers and satellite equipment to mask the location from where the calls were being made, and manipulated the calls to disguise the voice behind them.

US Attorney General. Jeff Sessions praised the FBI and the Israeli police for the arrest.

‘‘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,’’ Sessions said.

It is unclear what motivated the man.

His lawyer, Galit Bash, said her client ‘‘suffers from a brain tumour that may have had an effect on his cognitive functions’’.

‘‘He showed irrational behaviour during the investigation,’’ Bash said. She said the man wasn’t accepted into the Israeli army and was home schooled instead of attending a high school.

Bash said he was born in Israel to at least one American parent and that the family had spent several years in the US. She said she could not be more specific.

At Jewish community centres across the US, leaders said the arrest gave them a relative sense of calm after months of tensions.

‘‘We are relieved that progress has been made towards a resolution here, but we’re also going to remain vigilant,’’ said Brian Greene, executive director of Westside Jewish Community Centre in Los Angeles, which had received two bomb threats since February.

Rabbi Yosef Konikov, director of Chabad of South Orlando, Florida, which had received at least two threats since January, said he was relieved but surprised by the teen’s identity, which he called a ‘‘curve ball’’. - LA Times

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