At least three New York City synagogues and received bomb threats on Saturday ahead of Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Three threats, were made to synagogues in Manhattan. A fourth was sent to a Brooklyn synagogue, according to multiple reports.
The Upper West Side of Manhattan’s Congregation Rodeph Sholom and Congregation Beit Simchat Torah received fake threats Saturday afternoon. Chabad of Midtown on Fifth Avevnue and Brooklyn Heights Synagogue in Brooklyn were also sent fake threats.
The Brooklyn Museum in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park received another bomb threat that turned out to be unfounded. The threats remain under police investigation and it is unclear if they are connected.
“We are actively monitoring a number of bomb threats at synagogues in New York. Threats have been determined not to be credible, but we will not tolerate individuals sowing fear & antisemitism. Those responsible must be held accountable for their despicable actions,” said New York governor Kathy Hochul (D) Saturday evening.
Manhattan borough president Mark Levine said on Saturday the false bomb threats “cannot be accepted” and a “clear hate crime.”
“A clear hate crime, and part of a growing trend of “swatting” incidents targeting Jewish institutions,” Levine stated following the second bomb threat.
“But this is a clear effort to sow fear in the Jewish community. Cannot be accepted,” Levine added after the fourth bomb threat.
Holocaust Remembrance Day is taking place starting Sunday evening and going through Monday night. Events and ceremonies will take place across Israel to mourn the six million Jews systematically slaughtered by Hitler’s Nazi regime.
At the same time, New York City’s Jewish community is experiencing a noticeable uptick in antisemitic hate crimes. So far this year, antisemitic hate crimes have surged 45 percent, according to police data reported by the New York Post.
Antisemitic hate crimes have increased dramatically following Hamas’s mass civilian slaughter on October 7 and Israel’s ongoing military campaign against Hamas.
Last year, antisemitic incidents reached a record high since the Anti-Defamation League began tracking them over four decades ago, the group observed in a recent report. More antisemitic incidents took place last year after Hamas terrorist attack than the entire 2022 calendar year, the ADL found.
Antisemitic incidents and pro-Hamas chanting have taken place at the anti-Israel encampments being installed across the country by student activists and outside left-wing organizations.
New York City has been a hotbed for anti-Israel student protests in recent weeks, particularly at Columbia University, City College of New York, and New York University. NYPD officers have intervened at all three locations to clear out encampments and arrest demonstrators for violating school policies.