Hundreds of American synagogues and Jewish institutions receive bomb threats amid growing antisemitism fueled by Hamas war

Bomb threats were sent by email to hundreds of Jewish institutions and synagogues across the United States over the weekend as antisemitism continues to increase globally amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Hamas terror organization.

Widespread bomb threats against U.S. Jewish communities constitute a dramatic increase in hoax threats that have targeted American synagogues during the past few months.

The Secure Community Network (SCN), responsible for providing security for Jewish communities across America, revealed on Sunday that it has identified and tracked a whopping 199 threats against Jewish-American institutions iwithin a mere 24-hour period.

While threats were spread across 17 states and Washington D.C., almost 100 of them were reportedly registered in California and another 62 in Arizona. California is home to America’s second-largest Jewish population after New York.

Following investigations, local authorities concluded that none of the threats were credible. However, some led to disruptions in Jewish communal life. For instance, a synagogue in Colorado was evacuated during a Shabbat morning service. On the East Coast, a Jewish community in Massachusetts canceled its Sunday religious school.

Philip Ensler, a Jewish lawmaker in Alabama, posted a video where he lamented the rising threats against American Jews.  

“This is exhausting,” Ensler tweeted. “I pray for the day that we can worship and live in peace,” he added.

Ensler, who also heads the Jewish Federation of Central Alabama, revealed in an official statement that six out of seven Jewish institutions in his area of responsibility have been targeted.

Meanwhile, the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey assessed that the growing threats against Jewish institutions in the United States would likely continue for the foreseeable future.

“Unfortunately, there is reason to believe that this nationwide trend will continue in the foreseeable future,” the Jewish Federation wrote in an email sent to its members on Sunday, providing information about at least five local threats in northern New Jersey.

While the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas may have encouraged more threats against Jewish American communities, the overall picture was problematic before the Hamas invasion and massacre on Oct. 7.

In September, two U.S. synagogues were evacuated after receiving bomb threats that coincided with the Jewish New Year.

Oren Segal, vice president of the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) Center on Extremism, assessed the challenging security situation for a growing number of U.S. synagogues.

“Every weekend this network of swatters continues to identify targets and are calling in fake bomb threats, Segal said. “So that number is increasing and will potentially keep increasing," he added at the time, just weeks before the war in Gaza and the explosion of antisemitic incidents internationally and in the U.S.

Hatred against Jews and Israel is also on the rise on U.S. college campuses.

A recent report revealed a connection between rising antisemitism on campus and an increase in undisclosed donations, many originating from autocratic and anti-Jewish Middle Eastern regimes, such as Qatar.

"A massive influx of foreign, concealed donations to American institutions of higher learning, much of it from authoritarian regimes with notable support from Middle Eastern sources, reflects or supports heightened levels of intolerance towards Jews, open inquiry, and free expression," the report stated.

Qatar also has close ties with the terror organization Hamas and several of its leaders reside in the Qatari capital Doha.