AN ISRAELI-AMERICAN TEEN
19-year-old had targets worldwide — including some in Central Florida
was arrested in a series of bomb threats against Jewish centers worldwide, including some in Central Florida.
The Central Florida Jewish community expressed relief Thursday that Israeli police had arrested an Israeli-American teen and accused him of making a series of hoax bomb threats to Jewish institutions worldwide.
Trudy Morse, 21, a counselor in an after-school program at the Roth Family Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando, said the suspect’s capture has put the community at ease. However, finding out that a Jew was behind the threats was unsettling, she said.
“Now that we know who was causing the turmoil, JCCs can rest easy,” said Morse, who also is a University of Central Florida student. “But it’s important to not let our guard down altogether.”
At least five threats were made in January against the Roth Family Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando campus and Chabad of South Orlando, forcing evacuations.
“On one hand, it’s a bit of a relief because this wave is over,” said Rabbi Yosef Konikov, director of Chabad of South Orlando. “On the other hand, it’s sad and disturbing.”
Authorities didn’t release a list of the centers the 19-year-old suspect is accused of calling.
Over the past six months, the man, whose name was not released, phoned and emailed hundreds of Jewish centers in the U.S., Europe, Australia and New Zealand, according to Israeli police. The resident of the southern city of Ashkelon was the subject of a months-long investigation by the FBI, Israel’s cyber-attack unit and other international law enforcement agencies, police said. He also is a U.S. citizen, authorities said.
The Jewish Community Center, Jewish Academy of Orlando, Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando and the Holocaust Memorial Resource & Education Center — which share a campus in Maitland — issued a statement Thursday expressing the hope that the arrest “will bring a sense of calm and peace” to the entire community.
“We were quick to point the finger outward instead of inward,” said Rabbi Hillel Skolnik of the Southwest Orlando Jewish Congregation, which did not receive any threats. “When there is a next time — because we know there will be a next time — the biggest question will be if anyone will listen, and I hope to God the answer is yes.”
Galit Bash, the suspect’s attorney, said her client was home schooled after he was diagnosed with a brain tumor at 14. His illness affects his behavior, which keeps him from working and prevented him from being conscripted into the Israel Defense Forces, she added.
During the arrest, the suspect tried to grab a police officer’s gun and harm himself, but he was stopped, according to Israeli news Channel 2. After raising