New York synagogues, museum got fake bomb threats, officials say

5/5/2024 11:38

        At least three synagogues and a museum in New York received bomb threats on Saturday but none were deemed credible by the New York Police Department, a city official and police said.
        
        Manhattan Borough President Mark D. Levine said on X the synagogue bomb threats were "a clear hate crime, and part of a growing trend of 'swatting' incidents targeting Jewish institutions."
        
        "This is a clear effort to sow fear in the Jewish community. Cannot be accepted," he said.
        
        Antisemitic incidents of assault, vandalism and harassment in the U.S. more than doubled last year to a record high as anti-Jewish sentiment spiked after the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October, the Anti-Defamation League said in a report last month.
        
        A police spokesperson said a number of threats were received on Saturday, including an emailed bomb threat to the Brooklyn Museum and one to a synagogue in Brooklyn Heights, with no evidence of any explosive device detected.