Man Made Antisemitic, Islamophobic Threats Via Phone, FBI Says

Editor's note: This article contains graphic language and hate speech that some readers may find disturbing.

SOUTH JERSEY — A man was charged Monday after making antisemitic and Islamophobic threats, authorities said. Two South Jersey police agencies helped the FBI investigate.

Over the span of 15 months, Yaniv Gola called eight different victims and threatened to injure, rape and kill them, officials said. The Philadelphia man used a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service to mask his phone number, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office (USAO) of Eastern Pennsylvania.

Gola, 50, was charged with eight counts of interstate communication of threats. The Cinnaminson and Haddonfield police departments assisted with the federal investigation. It's not clear whether Gola threatened anyone linked to either town.

The offenses spanned from August 2022 and November of last year, authorities said. In his most recent call on Nov. 5, the USAO claims that Gola threatened, "You're Jewish, I'm from Hamas. You're animals and pigs … If you don’t leave that place, we're going to blow you up."

Gola also made the following threats in different phone calls, officials said:

• "I want to put a bullet in your head … You f***ing Muslims."
• "You f***ing Jew, now I know where you are. I'm going to kill all you Jews … You all should be shoved back into ovens. I'm going down to (victim's business location) to kill you."
• "How's (victim's name) doing? We love (victim's name). We're going to rape (victim's name). (States victim's home address)."
• "I'm going to stick a dildo up your vagina and split it in two."

If convicted, Gola faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a $2,000,000 fine and an $800 special assessment.

Three police departments in Pennsylvania — Philadelphia, Media and Newtown — also assisted the FBI.

Reported bias incidents against Jews and Muslims rose in the United States in the month following Oct. 7's Hamas-led attack against Israel and the beginning of Israel's ongoing bombardment of the Gaza Strip, according to ABC News.

On Oct. 7, law enforcement increased their patrols around New Jersey to better protect houses of worship for the Jewish and Islamic faiths. Although there were no credible threats in the state, the patrols came out of an abundance of caution, according to Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin.