At least six San Diego-area synagogues were among dozens of Jewish religious facilities statewide whose daily operations were disrupted Tuesday by false threats, authorities reported.
The centers of worship were targeted by a group email sent to about 100 facilities across California shortly before 7 a.m., said Bill Ganley, community security director for the Jewish Federation of San Diego.
The note stated that explosives had been planted at the various sites and would detonate "soon," according to Ganley and Lt. Zheath Sanchez of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.
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Law enforcement searches of the temples turned up no reported hazards.
Fabienne Perlov, regional director for the Anti-Defamation League San Diego, encouraged Jewish organizations that receive any similar threats to report to the ADL and local law enforcement to aid in a larger investigation.
"This is part of an ongoing trend as we saw a similar series of attacks and bomb threats in December," Perlov said. "the Jewish community has experienced multiple bomb threats in the past. This is not new, but it is a serious escalation."
The local institutions victimized by the hoax were Congregation Beth Israel in San Diego, Congregation Etz Chaim in Ramona, Temple Adat Shalom in Poway, Temple Emanu-El in San Diego, Temple Etz Rimon in Carlsbad and Temple Solel in Encinitas.
Perlov said there is an ongoing investigation by the FBI to determine who may be behind the fake threats. No suspects had been publicly identified as of Tuesday evening.
Such antisemitic incidents have been on the rise in San Diego, Perlov noted. Compared to the same time period in 2022, there has been a 150% increase in anti-semetic incidents and a 400% increase hate incidents, according to ADL data.
