U.S. Jewish centers report second wave of bomb threats in one month

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Several Jewish community centers in different U.S. states reported receiving false telephone bomb threats on Wednesday in the second wave of promised attacks to target American Jewish facilities this month.

The Jewish Community Center Association, a network of the health and education centers, said on Twitter it was aware of a number of threats and was working with local authorities to ensure people’s safety.

In Miami Beach, a center received a call at 9:54 a.m. (1454 GMT) and was evacuated, local police said on Twitter. Officers and police dogs searched the area but found no bomb and the center reopened, they said.

Two centers in Connecticut said on Facebook they had received threatening phone calls and had evacuated. No bombs were found, they said.

A series of bomb threats on Jan. 9 targeted 16 Jewish community centers in nine U.S. states, resulting in no attacks or injuries but prompting the Federal Bureau of Investigation to look into the source of the calls. Some of the calls were made using an automated “robocall” system.

No one claimed responsibility for the earlier bomb threats, and the FBI has not named any suspects or described a likely motive for them.

An FBI spokeswoman could not immediately be reached on Wednesday.

(Reporting by David Ingram in New York; Editing by Andrew Hay)

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