Israeli Arrested for Multiple Bomb Threats Against Jewish Centers

The media is very concerned about a sudden outburst of anti-Semitism coinciding with Trump’s election. This story helps put that supposed outburst into perspective:

The primary suspect in a string of bomb threats targeting Jewish community centers in the U.S. — a 19-year-old Israeli Jewish man — was arrested Thursday, Israeli police announced.

The unnamed suspect was arrested early Thursday morning in his house in southern Israel based partly on information from the FBI, and was set to appear in court later in the day. …

The investigation began about six months ago, following a threat made to a Jewish institute in New Zealand, according to an Israeli police statement. New Zealand identified the IP address as originating from Israel and contacted Israeli police.

Investigators said they initially struggled to locate the suspect but then received several reports of threats from 16 Jewish centers in nine U.S. states – Florida, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Tennessee, Georgia, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and North Carolina.

These threats also originated in Israel.

The suspect reportedly used advanced technology to prevent his location from being discovered. Police say his motive is unclear.

One thing we can assume: his motive was probably not what the media led people to suspect while breathlessly reporting the bomb threats. How many of these are hate hoaxes we may never know, but the percentage seems to be high.

On a tip from Sean C.