Bomb threats were emailed to six of the seven Jewish congregations in Central Alabama over the weekend, according to the Jewish Federation of Central Alabama.
The synagogues that received threats were the Jewish Federation of Central Alabama itself, along with Temple Mishkan Israel in Selma, Temple Emanu-El in Dothan, Temple Beth Or in Montgomery, Jewish Federation of Central Alabama in Montgomery, Agudath Israel Etz Ahayem in Montgomery, Congregation Beth Shalom in Auburn.
The only regional entity that was not threatened was Hillel at Auburn.
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Phillip Ensler (D-Montgomery), a Jewish State Representative, and the executive director of the Jewish Federation of Central Alabama, was at Agudath Israel Etz Ahayem in Montgomery, when the threats were issued.
After most of the Jewish congregations and facilities in Central Alabama received bomb threats today, I concluded the sabbath at a minyon service with fellow local Jews in which we sung “Oseh Shalom” which includes the words “May the one who creates peace on high bring peace to…
— Phillip Ensler (@EnslerPhillip) December 17, 2023
Law enforcement is still investigating the matter as of Monday morning.
”Our preliminary investigation has revealed that this threat may be part of a nationwide hoax; however, this incident is still under investigation,” the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release.
”While it is unfortunate that we must spend resources on a hoax or even give this sort of activity attention, we are sharing this information out of an abundance of caution.”
The Secure Community Network, which coordinates security for Jewish institutions throughout the country, recorded 199 threats yesterday, with nearly 100 in California and 62 in Arizona. Synagogues in at least 17 states in addition to Washington, D.C., were threatened.
Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News.
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