NEW YORK – The rabbi of one of three New York City synagogues that received a fake bomb threat this weekend is speaking out.
This weekend’s threat came just days before Holocaust Remembrance Day, and in the midst of nationwide campus protests regarding the Israel-Hamas war.
“We will not be deterred,” Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum of Beit Simchat Torah synagogue said.
Beit Simchat Torah received an email Saturday warning there was a bomb at its West 30th Street location and two other Jewish houses of worship.
“The email was sent to several synagogues and all different staff members,” Kleinbaum said. “And it said that there was a bomb in the building, it wasn’t a fake thing. Of course, that’s always interesting, when somebody has to tell you it was a fake thing.”
The NYPD said the bomb threats were unfounded.
Congregation Rodeph Sholom on West 83rd Street and the Brooklyn Heights synagogue were evacuated. Kleinbaum said no one was around, but a staffer called police.
The Brooklyn Museum also received a fake bomb threat.
Not their first threat
Kleinbaum became rabbi in 1992, during the AIDS crisis. She said it’s not the first time the synagogue was targeted.
“As the LGBT synagogue of New York, we know a lot about hate. As the Jewish synagogue, we know a lot about hate. But we also know a lot about love,” Kleinbaum said. “This is exactly the time to come to synagogue. We can’t let the haters win. We have to come together, in community… to not let those who want to terrorize us into isolation.”
Kleinbaum said one of the recent changes the congregation had to make is hiring full-time security. She said the synagogue will also apply to receive part of the $400 million in federal funding for houses of worship announced by Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer Sunday.
ADL says threats have grown
The Anti-Defamation League reports in 2023, false threats were called into synagogues ten times more than 2022. This all comes as the world marks Yom HaShoah – Holocaust Remembrance Day – commemorating the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust.
Rabbi Arther Schneier of Park East Synagogue is a Holocaust survivor.
“I was 8 years old when the Nazis took over, and overnight my life changed,” Schneier said. “It’s a very, very painful transition to see the division, the hatred… . Those who seek destruction of the state of Israel and on the Jewish people worldwide have crossed a line by selecting exactly, for a ‘Day of Rage,’ on Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day.”
Schneier said his synagogue was not targeted. He asks everyone to practice “mutual respect and acceptance.”
The NYPD Computer Crimes Unit is investigating the origin of the threats emailed to the synagogues. The NYPD says the unit investigates cyber security incidents and threats.
