Hundreds of emailed bomb threats were made to Jewish synagogues across the nation over the weekend, with one of the warnings being made to the Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson.
Beth Israel, which is the largest Jewish synagogue in Mississippi, was forced to cancel all on-site programming after receiving a bomb threat on Sunday morning.
Officials with the synagogue released a statement to the public that although local and federal law enforcement did not believe the threat to be credible, the location would be closed to the public until an all-clear was given.
“As we continue to see a rise in anti-Semitic rhetoric and incidents in America, our congregation is committed to continuing to live out our Jewish values of peace, faith, and justice in our community and beyond,” the statement read.
In all, the Secure Community Network reported that nearly 200 threats were made to Jewish institutions over a span of 24 hours this weekend, with the majority being made in California and Arizona. Synagogues in at least 17 other states, including Mississippi, also received threats during that time.
Just a few days prior, another Jewish temple in Mississippi was the recipient of a bomb threat, with law enforcement confirming that the Temple B’nai Israel in Columbus and Tupelo was emailed a threat on Thursday morning.
A handful of airports across the state were also sent a similar threat over email that same day. The airports included the Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport, Tupelo Regional, Gulfport-Biloxi International, Hattiesburg-Laurel Regional, and Stennis International.
Mississippi is the latest state to see an influx of bomb threats after 18 different locations across Oregon received similar threats on Wednesday. Other states that have seen bomb threats via email in recent days include Idaho, Florida, Maine, and Oklahoma.
