File photo
Following a series of reported threats and acts against Jewish community centers, places of worship and cemeteries in Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Wolf has directed law enforcement and the Pennsylvania Office of Homeland Security to step up efforts to track down the perpetrators.
While no direct acts against Bucks County’s Jewish institutions have been publicly reported, weekend vandalism to a Philadelphia Jewish cemetery and a Monday morning threat to two Central Pennsylvania Jewish community centers drew attention to the national trend of increased anti-Semitism.
NBC News reporters tweeted that Monday’s threats included nine other bomb threats at Jewish facilities outside of Pennsylvania.
“Any anti-Semitic act or act of intimidation aimed at Jewish institutions and people in Pennsylvania is truly reprehensible and we must find those responsible and hold them accountable. This is not who we are as Americans or Pennsylvanians. We will not take these threats and acts lightly and I have asked the PA State Police and Office of Homeland Security to offer their full resources towards protecting these institutions and finding those responsible,” Wolf said in a statement.
According to an accounting last week by left-leaning news site Huffington Post, 55 Jewish community centers had received bomb threats since January.
Aside from local law enforcement and state police, federal authorities are also “investigating possible civil rights violations,” CNN reported.
Bucks County has the third largest Jewish population in the state.
