Jewish centers get bomb threats

Children, teachers, parents evacuated after phone calls

Hundreds of children, teachers and parents were evacuated Monday from two Jewish Community Centers in Miami-Dade and across the eastern United States and in England after a series of telephone bomb threats.

In each case, no explosives were found. But the threats rattled nerves for several hours at the JCC campuses, including the Dave & Mary Alper JCC in Kendall and the Miami Beach JCC.

According to news reports, similar threats were made Monday at JCCs in Orlando, Jacksonville, Delaware, New Jersey, Tennessee, South Carolina and three in London.

In Florida, the threats began last week. The Tampa Bay Times reported the Tampa JCC closed early Thursday after phoned-in threats. Last Wednesday, two Jewish centers in Central Florida were evacuated after separate bomb threats. One of the centers includes a Holocaust museum.

In the last week, there have been at least eight threats at Jewish institutions in Florida, said Hava Holzhauer, Florida regional director of the AntiDefamation League (ADL).

“I don’t know the reason, but what it does is causes fear in the community,” Holzhauer said. “Regardless of how the threat comes in, it has to be checked out because we don’t know when it’s serious and not serious.”

Holzhauer said it’s a struggle to find a balance between reacting to threats and scaring the community. She referenced the shooting Friday at Fort-Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport as never knowing when terror could strike.

The ADL tracks all threats, Holzhauer said, because “every action begins with an idea.”

Monday’s late-morning local threats, at the Dave and Mary Alper JCC in Kendall and the Miami Beach JCC, came via phone. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said it evacuated 450 kids and 70 people who work at the Alper Center at 11155 SW 112th Ave.

Miami-Dade police and Miami Beach police, respectively, swept each campus before giving the all clear. That came at about 12:15 p.m. in Miami Beach, where a woman phoned in the threat and said the JCC at 4221 Pine Tree Drive needed to be cleared in an hour. Examining the muchlarger Alper took until after 1 p.m.

“I don’t know the reason, but what it does is causes fear in the community.” Hava Holzhauer, AntiDefamation League