Senators Booker, Menendez Join Call For Stronger Protection For Jewish Community Centers [UPDATED]

CHERRY HILL, NJ — U.S. Sen. Cory Booker has joined Rep. Donald Norcross in calling on the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA), which administers the area’s Urban Area Security Initiative funding, to share the resources with South Jersey to protect all of the Philadelphia area’s Jewish communities.

Currently, the funding is being used for Philadelphia proper, as well as Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties, a spokesperson for Norcross’s office said last week. Norcross is asking PEMA to expand the area to Camden, Burlington and Gloucester counties, and believes the PEMA director can expand the area by working with representatives in Philadelphia.

On Monday, Norcross and Booker appeared at the Betty and Milton Katz Jewish Community Center (Katz JCC) to announce they were writing to Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly to request help, according to the Courier Post.

Their appearance came one week after an unfounded bomb threat at the Katz JCC.

On Tuesday, Booker and fellow U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez announced they had joined with all 100 senators to call on President Donald Trump's adminostration to take action in response to the recent anonymous bomb threats made against Jewish Community Centers (JCC’s), Jewish Day Schools, and Synagogues.

In a bipartisan letter to Kelly, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and FBI Director James Comey, the Senators stressed the importance of these centers within their communities, and offered suggestions for deterring the threats of violence, the senators said in a joint statement.

“These cowardly acts aim to create an atmosphere of fear and disrupt the important programs and services offered by JCCs to everyone in the communities they serve, including in our states,” the Senators wrote in the letter. “We are concerned that the number of incidents is 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.”

According to the Jewish Federations of North America, in the first two months of 2017 alone, at least 98 incidents against JCCs and Jewish Day Schools at 81 locations in 33 states have been reported. Threats to the Jewish community even included threats on organizations dedicated to fighting anti-Semitism such as threats to two offices of the Anti-Defamation League.

On Tuesday, Jewish Community Centers in multiple states were the target of another round of bomb threats.

The Senators also raised concerns about the desecration of hundreds of headstones at Jewish cemeteries in both St. Louis and Philadelphia.

“We encourage you to communicate with individual JCCs, the JCC Association of North America, Jewish Day Schools, Synagogues and other Jewish community institutions regarding victim assistance, grant opportunities or other federal assistance that may be available to enhance security measures and improve preparedness,” the Senators wrote. “We also recognize the anti-Semitic sentiment behind this spate of threats and encourage your Departments to continue to inform state and local law enforcement organizations of their obligations under the Hate Crime Statistics Act and other federal laws.”

The letter is supported by a wide range of groups, including the American Jewish Committee, Anti-Defamation League, Jewish Community Center Association of North America, Jewish Council for Public Affairs, Orthodox Union, Jewish Federations of North America and Union for Reform Judaism.

Locally, action is already being taken.

Last week, the Attorney General’s Office announced it is offering a $10,000 reward for tips from the public leading to a bias crime conviction, such as this event at the Katz JCC.

Norcross was already working closely with South Jersey synagogues and the New Jersey Jewish Federation to secure greater security funding, before these most recent attacks. Last week, he sent a letter to the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security asking them to investigate the rise in anti-Semitism and threats against JCC’s across the country.

The New Jersey State Police and the Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness (OHSP) have increased patrol efforts at houses of worship, faith-based institutions, community centers and cemeteries throughout the state, Gov. Chris Christie announced last week.

The full text of the letter sent on Tuesday can be found below:

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

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. 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.

It has become clear that threats of violence against individual JCCs are not isolated incidents. According to the Jewish Federations of North America, in the first two months of 2017 alone, at least 98 incidents against JCCs and Jewish Day Schools at 81 locations in 33 states have been reported. These cowardly acts aim to create an atmosphere of fear and disrupt the important programs and services offered by JCCs to everyone in the communities they serve, including in our states. In addition to reports of incidents at JCCs and Jewish Day Schools, there have been incidents at cemeteries in both St. Louis and Philadelphia involving the desecration of Jewish headstones. This is completely unacceptable and un-American.

We are concerned that the number of incidents is 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. 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. We encourage you to communicate with individual JCCs, the JCC Association of North America, Jewish Day Schools, Synagogues and other Jewish community institutions regarding victim assistance, grant opportunities or other federal assistance that may be available to enhance security measures and improve preparedness. We also recognize the anti-Semitic sentiment behind this spate of threats and encourage your Departments to continue to inform state and local law enforcement organizations of their obligations under the Hate Crime Statistics Act and other federal laws.

We are ready to work with you to address this pressing issue, and we look forward to your responses about the actions you intend to take to address, deter, and prevent this threat.

Patch file photo