CHERRY HILL – The threat of an explosion on Tuesday morning forced children and other people to evacuate the Katz Jewish Community Center on Tuesday.
Law enforcement officers held the building at 5 pm on Tuesday.
“While we are relieved that this threat was unwarranted, we are concerned
the anti-Semitism behind these threats and the recurrence of threats aimed at interfering in daily life, ”said Jennifer Dubrov Weiss, director general of the Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey.
The threat came after other anti-Semitic incidents in December, when swastikas were found in parking lots in the temple of Adat Eman-El on Mount Laurel and in the bathroom of Marleton High School.
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Moorstown police said last month finding leaflets with supporters of white supremacy near the city center.
Law enforcement officials and the recent training of Katz Center staff facilitated the organized evacuation on Tuesday, said Oded Kraus, the agency’s director.
He noted that the teens involved in the preschool program were taken to the evacuation site during the incident at 8:30 p.m.
The SEC also received “great help” from employees of other institutions of the Jewish Federation, he added.
“Our centers have security protocols that ensure the safety of their program participants, visitors to institutions and all staff,” said Dubrov Weiss.
The federation also provides security assessments to support synagogues seeking state and federal security grants. According to William “Buddha” Monahan, regional director of the Security Federation, he also offers security training and resources to all public institutions.
One city synagogue, the Congregation of the Sons of Israel on Cooper Landing Road, received approval from the planning council in January to add bulletproof doors as part of an improvement project.
The temple also plans to add a canopy to shelter a security group outside the building.
The Katz Community Center was also evacuated during the incident in December 2017, when several Jewish institutions across the country were threatened with an explosion.
Jim Walsh covers state security, economic development and other articles for the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal.
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