Arrest made in series of anti-Semitic threats
18-year-old who has brain tumor caught in Israel
A Jewish teenager in Israel has been arrested in a wave of threats to Jewish institutions in the United States and other countries, contributing to fears of a spike in antiSemitism, officials say.
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 Thursday after the man was arrested.
The 18-year-old suspect, who holds dual Israeli and U.S. citizenship, suffers from a brain tumor that can affect his behavior, his lawyer said.
An Israeli police spokesman, Micky Rosenfeld, said the man, who lives in the Ashkelon area, had made threats to Jewish community centers and other sites in the U.S., Australia and New Zealand, and to at least one commercial airline flight. The authorities did not offer a motive.
No criminal record
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.
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.
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.
‘A little bit perplexing’
While most Israelis are drafted into military service, the teen was rejected, which 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.
On Thursday morning, the FBI held a conference call with leaders of Jewish organizations to discuss the arrest. 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.”
“We’re grateful to the law enforcement agencies that were able to apprehend a suspect and the progress that’s been made by the investigation,” Dinkin said. “We’re troubled to learn that the individual suspected is Jewish. JCCs are seen as an inclusive and welcoming place, so certainly this is disturbing.”
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.”