An Israeli-American
man accused in a flurry of nationwide Jewish center threats is charged in the U.S.
An Israeli-American man accused of making bomb threats to Jewish schools and community centers nationwide was responsible for a number of such threats in Central Florida, according to a U.S. Department of Justice complaint. Michael Ron David Kadar, who was arrested in Israel in March, is now facing federal charges in the U.S. The charges include making interstate threats related to explosives and cyberstalking. U.S. Justice Department officials filed a federal complaint against him in Orlando on Friday. The threats caused evacuations and disruptions in schools and community centers around the U.S.
Among the local centers listed in Kadar’s criminal case are Chabad South Orlando and the Roth Family Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando in Maitland. He is also accused of calling an Orange County public school, Glenridge Middle School, and Orlando International Airport.
“We give profound thanks to law enforcement agencies and professionals around the world who have worked to keep our community safe and bring the perpetrator to justice,” said Sara Brady, a spokeswoman for the Roth Family JCC.
According to the complaints, Kadar used software to disguise his voice and, in some cases, included graphic detail about harming children in his calls.
“Kadar allegedly took extraordinary steps to conceal his identity and location through several technological means, including voice alteration, use of proxy IP addresses, virtual currencies and caller ID spoofing,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth E. Blanco, of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
Kadar is accused of making threatening calls to a JCC preschool in Tampa, a Jewish Community Alliance preschool in Jacksonville, Maimonides Hebrew Day School in Fort Myers and a few schools in Athens, Ga. A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice declined to say if Kadar will be brought to the U.S. to face charges, citing policy not to comment on extradition.