SUSPECT

U.S.-Israeli Citizen Arrested for JCC Threats

Accused of phoning in bomb threats to Jewish centers.

A Jewish U.S.-Israeli dual citizen was arrested in Israel on Thursday on suspicion of carrying out numerous bomb threats against Jewish community centers in the United States and elsewhere. According to Israeli police, the man, 19, was able to shield himself by using available technological tools to hide the source of his threats, which were also directed at Jewish centers in New Zealand and Australia. The FBI reportedly assisted in the probe. “Today’s arrest in Israel is the culmination of a large-scale investigation spanning multiple continents for hate crimes against Jewish communities across our country,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement. Israeli police have not yet been able to identify a possible motive. The string of threats in the U.S. was met with condemnation from the White House, and Vice President Mike Pence helped clean up a Jewish cemetery in St. Louis that was vandalized.