All 100 senators on Tuesday demanded action in response to the latest wave of anti-Semitic bomb threats targeting Jewish community centers around the country.
The request came in a letter organized by Sens. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and signed by all 100 senators.
“We write to underscore the need for swift action with regard to the deeply troubling series of anonymous bomb threats made against Jewish Community Centers (JCCs), Jewish Day Schools, Synagogues and other buildings affiliated with Jewish organizations or institutions across the country,” the lawmakers wrote to the Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and FBI Director James Comey.
{mosads}“We thank you for your recent efforts and ask that you inform us of the actions that your Departments plan to take to address threats against these and other religious institutions. We stand ready to work with you to ensure that these centers can continue to serve their communities free from violence and intimidation,” the lawmakers added.
In the letter, the senators underscored that the recent wave of anti-Semitic threats is not a series of isolated incidents and that all manifestations of anti-Semitism are “completely unacceptable and un-American.”
“We are concerned that the number of incidents accelerating and failure to address and deter these threats will place innocent people at risk and threaten the financial viability of JCCs, many of which are institutions in their communities,” the lawmakers maintained.
“Your Departments can provide crucial assistance by helping JCCs, Jewish Day Schools and Synagogues improve their physical security, deterring threats from being made, and investigating and Prosecuting those making these threats or who may seek to act on these threats [in] the future,” they added.
The letter comes in the wake of several new bomb threats that targeted JCCs and offices of the Anti-Defamation League on Tuesday.
St. Louis resident and former reporter Juan Thompson was arrested last week for allegedly making some of the threatening calls, but his case isn’t connected to all of the threats.