WASHINGTON, DC – Following a bomb threat made on the Mandel Jewish Community Center (Mandel) in the 11th Congressional District, Congresswoman Marcia L. Fudge (OH-11) signed on to a letter urging the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Department of Justice to act swiftly and look into the incident at Mandel and at JCCs nationwide. Since January, 68 bomb threats or incidents have occurred over the last two months targeting 53 Jewish Community Centers (JCCs) in 26 states, including Ohio.*

 

The Congresswoman is appalled by these hate filled acts and stands with the Jewish community.  She remains committed to working with federal and local officials and organizations as they identify and prosecute the perpetrators and strengthen security measures at JCCs nationwide.

 

Click here for a pdf of the letter or read text below.

 

 

 

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February 23, 2017

 

The Honorable John F. Kelly

Secretary

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

3801 Nebraska Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20016

                                                      

The Honorable Jeff Sessions

Attorney General

U.S. Department of Justice

950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20530

 

The Honorable James B. Comey

Director

Federal Bureau of Investigation

935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20535

 

 

Dear Secretary Kelly, Attorney General Sessions, and Director Comey,

 

We write to express our deep concern regarding the recent spate of anonymous bomb threats made via telephone against Jewish Community Centers (JCCs) across the nation.  We urge the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice to swiftly assess the situation and to advise Congress on what specific steps are being taken, or will be taken, to deter such threats from being made, to identify and prosecute the perpetrators for violations of federal criminal laws, and to enable JCCs to enhance security measures such as physical barriers and guards, in the event that an individual seeks to act upon these threats.

 

This is not an idle concern, given that there have been at least three casualty-causing attacks at JCCs or other Jewish institutions in the last two decades—in 2014 at a Kansas JCC, in 2006 at the Jewish Federation of Seattle, and in 1999 at a California JCC.  This is a national problem and, as such, it requires a national solution.

 

In the first two months of 2017 alone, there have been 68 incidents targeting 53 JCCs in 26 states, according to JCC Association of North America.  A number of JCCs, such as the Roth Family Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando, have received multiple threats.

 

These phone calls have an immediate emotional impact, of course, but they also have an economic impact.  JCCs provide a range of educational and community services for Jewish and non-Jewish individuals and families, with a particular focus on children and youth.  The individuals who make these calls no doubt recognize that bomb threats, particularly when repeated, can compromise and even destroy a JCC’s financial future.

 

We urge you to approach this issue with a sense of urgency, and to work in partnership with state and territory governments, local law enforcement officials, JCC Association of North America, individual JCCs, and Jewish community institutions and leaders to address the threat in a holistic manner.  We look forward to your response regarding the specific steps being taken to prevent and respond to this threat.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

Rep. Stephanie Murphy

Rep. Joseph Crowley

Rep. Val Demings

Rep. Daniel Donovan

Rep. Marcy Kaptur

Rep. Tim Ryan

Rep. Grace Meng

Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz

Rep. Steve Cohen

Rep. Nydia Velazquez

Rep. Alcee Hastings

Rep. Juan Vargas

Rep. Jimmy Panetta

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee

Rep. Rosa DeLauro

Rep. Leonard Lance

Rep. John Lewis

Rep. John Sarbanes

Rep. Paul Tonko

Rep. Jim Cooper

Rep. Darren Soto

Rep. Dwight Evans

Rep. Nita Lowey

Rep. Jerrold Nadler

Rep. Matt Cartwright

Rep. John Yarmuth

Rep. Kathleen Rice

Rep. Pramila Jayapal

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick

Rep. Charlie Crist

Rep. Ted Deutch

Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton

Rep. John Delaney

Rep. David Joyce

Rep. Brian Higgins

Rep. Donald McEachin

Rep. William Keating

Rep. Brenda Lawrence

Rep. Betty McCollum

Rep. Frederica Wilson

Rep. James McGovern

Rep. Lois Frankel

Rep. Elijah Cummings

Rep. Eliot Engel

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart

Rep. Charlie Dent

Rep. Michael Capuano

Rep. Claudia Tenney

Rep. Alan Lowenthal

Rep. Luis Gutierrez

Rep. David Cicilline

Rep. Thomas Suozzi

Rep. Sander Levin

Rep. Seth Moulton

Rep. Rick Larsen

Rep. Suzanne Bonamici

Rep. Brad Schneider

Rep. Jacky Rosen

Rep. Jose Serrano

Rep. Dina Titus

Rep. Tom MacArthur

Rep. Carolyn Maloney

Rep. Jackie Speier

Rep. David Scott

Rep. John Conyers

Rep. Brendan Boyle

Rep. Derek Kilmer

Rep. Jan Schakowsky

Rep. Blake Farenthold

Rep. Eric Swalwell

Rep. Bill Pascrell

Rep. Suzan DelBene

Rep. Patrick Meehan

Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman

Rep. Robin Kelly

Rep. Peter Welch

Rep. Danny Davis

Rep. Donald Beyer

Rep. Kyrsten Sinema

Rep. Donald Norcross

Rep. Bill Johnson

Rep. Filemon Vela

Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver

Rep. Joe Courtney

Rep. Gus Bilirakis

Rep. Gerald Connolly

Rep. WM Lacy Clay

Rep. Ryan Costello

Rep. Anna Eshoo

Rep. Elizabeth Esty

Rep. Diana DeGette

Rep. Daniel Lipinski

Rep. Kathy Castor

Rep. Ted Lieu

Rep. John Larson

Rep. James Langevin

Rep. Jim Himes

Rep. Bill Foster

Rep.  Earl Blumenauer

Rep. Keith Ellison

Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson

Rep. Jim Bridenstine

Rep. Peter Visclovsky

Rep. Hank Johnson

Rep. Terri Sewell

Rep. Salud Carbajal

Rep. Joyce Beatty

Rep. Dave Trott

Rep. John Faso

Rep. Robert Brady

Rep. Greg Meeks

Rep. Mike Thompson

Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen

Rep. Stephen Lynch

Rep. Doris Matsui

Rep. Julia Brownley

Rep. Frank Pallone

Rep. Bill Posey

Rep. Al Green

Rep. Adam Schiff

Rep. Josh Gottheimer

Rep. Adriano Espaillat

Rep. Yvette Clarke

Rep. Raul Grijalva

Rep. Jamie Raskin

Rep. Ron Kind

Rep. Marc Veasey

Rep. Barbara Lee

Rep. Albio Sires

Rep. Robert “Bobby” Scott

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen

Rep. Vern Buchanan

Rep. Jared Polis

Rep. Carol Shea-Porter

Rep. Andre Carson

Rep. John Katko

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries

Rep. Carlos Curbelo

Rep. Sanford Bishop

Rep. Frank LoBiondo

Rep. Marcia Fudge

Rep. Christopher Smith

Rep. Ruben Gallego

Rep. Peter Roskam

Rep. Jared Huffman

Rep. James Renacci

Rep. Raul Ruiz

Rep. Zoe Lofgren

Rep. Richard Neal

Rep. Vicente Gonzalez

Rep. Patrick Tiberi

Rep. Joseph Kennedy

Rep. Tom O’Halleran

Rep. Mia Love

Rep. Steve Stivers

Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham

 

 

*data according to JCC Association of North America

 

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