For the past several months, the U.S. has been an experiencing an alarming surge of anti-Semitism and threats against Jewish Community Centers. Earlier this month, the F.B.I. arrested disgraced journalist Juan Thompson after it was revealed he had made several hoax bomb threats to Jewish community centers in the U.S. and then attempted to frame an ex-girlfriend for the crime.
Now, another suspect has been nabbed for making hoax bomb threats to Jewish community centers and schools — in not just the U.S., but also in Australia and New Zealand. The international bomb threat maker was caught by police on Thursday and has left many stunned to learn he is Jewish himself.
According to Reuters, the teenager is about 19 years old and holds dual citizenship from the United States and Israel. Law enforcement officials say he made at least a 100 threats to Jewish Centers in the U.S. alone.
In one case, his antics hit a new level when his threats forced a commercial airline to land, said Mickey Rosenfeld, a spokesperson for Isreali police.
But the teen that is suspected of making threats for the past three months was not easy to capture. Officials said it took a month to catch up with the teen, because of his use of advanced masking technologies. The arrest eventually involved the cooperation of the F.B.I. and several European police agencies, the Isreali police said in a statement.
“The investigation began in several countries at the same time, in which dozens of threatening calls were received at public places, events, synagogues and community building that caused panic and disrupted events and activities in various organizations,” the statement said.
(Via Reuters & New York Times)