Police Investigate Bomb Threat At Katz JCC In Cherry Hill; Officials React

CHERRY HILL, NJ — The Betty and Milton Katz Jewish Community Center (Katz JCC) in Cherry Hill is back up and running after the facility was safely evacuated due to an unspecified threat Monday morning, JCC Spokeswoman Stephanie Dworkin said.

The phoned-in bomb threat was received at about 10:40 a.m. Cherry Hill Police, the Camden County Prosecutor's Office and K-9 squads from the Camden and Burlington county sheriff's departments responded to the scene, which was cleared at about 12:30 p.m., Cherry Hill Police said.

Police said the building was "self-evacuated." An explosives sweep of the center found nothing, police said.

"The Cherry Hill Police Department commends the JCC Staff for their response and assistance and appreciates the cooperation of local residents and parents that were on location," police said.

The incident remains under investigation, and anyone with information is asked to contact the Investigative Unit at 856-488-7833. Tips can also be emailed to tips@cherryhillpolice.com or to the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office ccpotips@ccprosecutor.org.

Earlier in the day, the Katz JCC expressed its solidarity with the Jewish community following reports that headstones had been damaged at a Jewish cemetery in Philadelphia.

“For a number of weeks we have been spared while other JCCs around the country have received bomb threats," Katz JCC Executive Director Les Cohen said. " ... This morning we received a bomb threat and the staff immediately evacuated the building.”

He added that the members were extremely cooperative and the JCC received great assistance from staff members of other Federation agencies. Early childhood children were safely escorted to one of the JCC’s evacuation sites.

“The building was cleared. We returned to business as usual. Safety and security of our children and other members are our primary concern," Cohen said. "We deplore hatred and violence in any form, as we continue to remain vigilant.”

“The Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey and its family of agencies have made safety a top priority in light of the recent wave of threats made against Jewish institutions," Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey CEO Jennifer Dubrow Weiss said. "Our centers have in place security protocols to ensure the safety of their program participants, facility visitors, and all staff. I am very proud of the response and professionalism displayed during this occurrence.

"While we are relieved that all such threats have proven to be hoaxes and that not a single person was harmed, we are concerned about the anti-Semitism behind these threats, and the repetition of threats intended to interfere with day-to-day life. Our Jewish Federation and family of agencies serve not just the Jewish community, but the entire community. Participants from all different backgrounds visit to use our facilities, received social services, take part in cultural and religious programming, and for the opportunity to come together as a community.”

The evacuation took place shortly after an evacuation at the Siegel JCC in Wilmington, Delaware, according to NBC 10. That incident ended without injuries after about an hour. There were also evacuations at Jewish Community Centers in York and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on Monday, according to CBS 3.

“We are deeply troubled by the events that transpired this morning at the Katz JCC here in Cherry Hill," Cherry Hill Mayor Chuck Kahn said. "While the threat was ultimately deemed to be unfounded, I want to make clear that there is absolutely no place for hatred, intimidation, or intolerance of any kind within our
community.

"In light of this and other recent events across the country, I want to take this opportunity to make the following statement. In Cherry Hill, we value our diversity; our differences are an integral part of who we are and what makes our town great. Every human being and every religious and cultural institution has a right to feel safe, and I want our residents to know that we will not sit back and let fear paralyze our community or our residents."

He went on to call on Cherry Hill's residents to "send a message that there is no room for hatred and ignorance in Cherry Hill."

"The Cherry Hill Police Department and the township have a strong relationship with all of our

religious and cultural institutions and we will continue to offer whatever resources are necessary
to ensure the health and security of our entire community," Kahn said. "Crimes of hate and any similar threat will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

Camden County Freeholder Director Louis Capelli released a similar statement, on behalf of the county's freeholder board.

“This morning, our first responders were called to a place where our community thrives, where our children go to learn and people of all ages, ethnicities and religions come together as one," Cappelli said. "Inspired by hate and stupidity, a suspect tried to destabilize a special place in our county by threatening our core values of diversity and tolerance. This perpetrator is trying to undermine some of the strongest tenants of our society and we will not stand for it.

"This incident is appalling in every sense of the word and we will not stand idly by while these types of despicable acts are used to compromise our strong social fabric. Simply put, hate has no home here in Camden County and we will prosecute the suspect who engaged in this act of hate and terror to the fullest extent of the law. This action will have grave consequences and our law enforcement personnel will be diligently working to bring this person to justice.

"After seeing the despicable and disgusting acts of vandalism that took place across the river this weekend we must, as a community, act in unity to ensure that these xenophobic, racist, islamophobic, homophobic hate-filled individuals have no home here. There can never be a time and place where a criminal can feel comfortable threatening our children and neighborhoods with hate.”

Rep. Donald Norcross (D-1) responded to both the threat at Katz JCC and the weekend cemetery vandalism by requesting federal security funding to protect South Jersey’s Jewish communities.

“This weekend’s vandalism of Mount Carmel Jewish Cemetery and today’s bomb threat against the Katz Jewish Community Center aren’t just attacks on our friends and neighbors in the Jewish community – they’re attacks against all of us," Norcross said in a statement Monday afternoon. "Christians, Muslims and Jews are standing together to take a stand against this hatred – it has no place here or anywhere in America.”

Currently, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provides federal funding to the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metropolitan area to prevent terrorist attacks. However, the funds are being used exclusively in Pennsylvania, ignoring threats faced by communities in South Jersey and Delaware, according to Norcross.

Norcross wrote the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, which administers the area’s Urban Area Security Initiative funding, to request they share the resources with South Jersey to protect all of the Philadelphia area’s Jewish communities.

“Unfortunately, federal funds to protect our area and Jewish communities from terrorism aren’t being shared with South Jersey," Norcross said. "Anti-Semitism doesn’t stop at the state line – nor should funding to combat these threats. In light of these crimes, I’m urging the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency to share security funding with all of the area’s vulnerable communities.”

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.

To read Norcross's full letter, click here.

As of last week, there had been nearly 70 threats issued against Jewish Community Centers in 27 states and one Canadian province since the beginning of the year, according to the Huffington Post. Hard numbers weren't available for threats made against these centers before Jan. 1 of this year, but centers told the website this string of threats is "unprecedented."

In New Jersey, an unfounded bomb threat lead to the evacuation of a Jewish Community Center in Scotch Plains in January.

No one has been hurt in connection with any of the threats made to date.

The wave of threats has been viewed as an effect of President Trump's rhetoric when he was on the campaign trail last year.

Ivanka Trump, who converted to Judaism, was the first member of the Trump family to speak out on the epidemic.

The next day, President Trump denounced the threats and anti-Semitism in general, according to CNN.

"The anti-Semitic threats targeting our Jewish community and community centers are horrible and are painful and a very sad reminder of the work that still must be done to root out hate and prejudice and evil," Trump said.

On Monday, Assembly Majority Leader Louis Greenwald and Assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt (both D-Camden/Burlington) about the threat in Cherry Hill, as well as those across the country.

“This morning, bomb threats were reported at the Katz JCC here in Cherry Hill and at Jewish community centers in eight states across the nation," they said. "These threats were taken seriously, as entire centers were evacuated and police were brought to the scene.

“This incident is not just a threat to the Jewish community of Cherry Hill, but to all of us.

“Jewish people have been targeted for unrelenting persecution throughout history, merely because of the faith they practice. The bomb threats today are no different. New Jersey is one of the most diverse states in the nation and we will not tolerate anti-Semitism and hate in our state.

“While there is no doubt that anti-Semitic sentiments and acts have been gaining ground over the past year, we have taken action to put New Jersey strongly on the record in condemning anti-Semitism.

“We passed legislation condemning all forms of anti-Semitism, and we stand behind this pledge to lead by example. No elected official should allow bigotry, hatred, and fear to fester and thrive through their failure to take action.”

The Katz JCC, located at 1301 Springdale Road in Cherry Hill, provides social, recreational, education and health and wellness programming for youth and adults of all ages, abilities, races and religions. It is committed to promoting and enriching Jewish culture, heritage, values and lives by providing outstanding educational, social and health and wellness programs and experiences for our community.

It was established in the 1940s and has become a haven for Jewish organizations, children, youth and older adults and individuals with special needs. It famously hosted the worldwide Maccabi Games, the largest annual gathering of Jewish teens ages 13-16 from around the world for an Olympic-style competition, in 1999 and 2014.