Jewish sites in the United States reported 199 “swatting” incidents in 24 hours, a security consultancy said Saturday — highlighting the increase in hoaxes and fear-mongering rhetoric since the Oct. 7 attack.
The Secure Community Network, which monitors anti-Semitic threats and liaises with law enforcement, said the increase in swatting – joking at emergency services in an attempt to send a large number of armed police officers to a location – and bomb threats was deeply worrying goods. .
Michael Masters, the network's CEO, said it was wrong to view the bomb threats and hoax emergency calls as harmless pranks because they piled trauma on trauma and could cause actual harm.
“The alarming number of swatting incidents and hoax bomb threats being made across the country is a major concern for the safety and security of the Jewish community in North America, as well as law enforcement,” Masters said.
The staggering single-day total comes as there has been a massive 541 percent increase in similar hoaxes in 2023 compared to this time last year. The spike coincided with Hamas' surprise attack on Israel on October 7 and a spike in anti-Semitism seen across the country.
A member of the New York Police Department patrols outside the Bais Yaakov Nechamia Dsatmar synagogue congregation in Williamsburg, Brooklyn on October 13
Hoboken police stand guard outside a synagogue in their New Jersey city
“SCN, community partners, law enforcement and public safety agencies take these incidents seriously and are working diligently to address them.
“It is critical to recognize that these are not victimless crimes or harmless pranks: they can have real – and even deadly – consequences.”
The SCN said that among the 199 incidents reported were 93 in California, 62 in Arizona, 15 in Connecticut, five in Colorado and four in Washington state.
The group has recorded a 541 percent increase in swats year on year, and a 290 percent increase in anti-Semitic incidents, including vandalism, harassment and assault.
In October and November alone, SCN referred 230 people to police, the group said.
On December 12, police in California arrested a youth accused of vandalizing synagogues in Tustin and Fullerton.
The suspect is accused of setting up an online “swatting ring” that brought together fellow extremists and called in bomb threats against Jewish facilities in California and across the country in July and August, including at least 25 synagogues in 13 states.
“The false threats made in this case have drained law enforcement resources and caused a negative financial impact on local communities,” the FBI said in a statement announcing the minor's arrest.
“Research has shown that making false threats can cause significant distress to victims and physical harm to first responders or other victims.”
A bomb threat sent to a synagogue in Newtown Township on Thursday led to the evacuation of the community's Jewish day school, disrupting classes for the youth at the Shir Ami Synagogue.
On Saturday, a synagogue in Boulder, Colorado, evacuated its Shabbat morning services due to a bomb threat, while a congregation in western Massachusetts canceled its religious Sunday school.
The Shir Ami Synagogue in Pennsylvania was evacuated on Thursday after a bomb threat
On Sunday morning, a synagogue in Maine, the South Portland Congregation Bet Ha'am, was evacuated and searched by police after a bomb threat was emailed to the organization.
The arrests do not appear to diminish the threats.
“Unfortunately, there is reason to believe that this national trend will continue for the foreseeable future,” the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey told community members in an email Sunday afternoon.
They said there had been at least five threats in the area.
In Alabama, Philip Ensler, the state's only Jewish lawmaker, posted a video on social media showing the moment the Torah reading in his synagogue was interrupted and everyone present was ushered outside.
“This is exhausting,” he tweeted. “I pray for the day when we can worship and live in peace.”