San Diego

Email, Once Again, Threatens La Jolla Jewish Community Center

This is the latest in a long series of similar threats made toward Jewish centers across the U.S.

The Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center (JCC) in La Jolla has once again received a bomb threat – the latest in a wave targeting Jewish community centers across the nation.

San Diego Police Department (SDPD) Officer Billy Hernandez confirmed Wednesday that the local JCC had received an email threat. No further details about the wording in the email were released; no evacuations were ordered.

A security guard at the center told NBC 7 they weren't evacuating the site because the threat was not credible.

For months, a series of similar threats made toward Jewish centers across the United States has persisted. On Tuesday, another wave of bomb threats targeted facilities in New York, Florida, Wisconsin and Illinois, in most cases leading to brief evacuations. In recent months, these threats have prompted evacuations of dozens of facilities spanning more than 30 states.

The La Jolla JCC is part of this. On Feb. 21, the local center received a bomb threat. It again happened on Feb. 27.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) said several of its offices have also received similar threats. A man was arrested last week in connection with one of the threats to the ADL and the seven other Jewish centers, including the La Jolla facility, but investigators said that man is a copycat.

Naomi Ruderman, a San Diego woman attending a class at the La Jolla center on Wednesday, told NBC 7 the threats to the local center and to sites across the country are deeply disturbing.

“I’m disgusted," she said. "I’m disgusted that we can’t find the people, the group, who’s behind all of this. This is crazy. This is absolutely anti-Semitism at its best.”

Ruderman said that although Wednesday's threat to the JCC was not deemed credible, it still makes her "wary."

She doesn't understand why anyone would choose to target a center that does so much for the community.

“This is a wonderful place; it’s open to everybody – you don’t have to be Jewish. It’s open to anybody that wants to be part of a good organization,” she explained.

She said the threats must be thoroughly investigated and somehow, they must be stopped.

"They’re putting fear into everybody," Ruderman lamented. "Let’s stop it. But how do you stop words? You can’t."

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