Officials from the United States Department of Homeland Security visited Chicago this week to deal with security issues involving local synagogues. Jewish centers in the city were apparently the targets in a recent bomb plot. On Wednesday, officials will begin conference calls with Jewish leaders across the country to discuss security.
Officials working with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) released guidelines for dealing with packages from abroad. “If there's an odor to the package, or if the packaging looks funny, treat it cautiously and with suspicion,” said the ADL's Mark Briskman. “Don't play with it. Don't open it. Get away from it and call 911.” Synagogues with questions relating to security should contact the FBI, he said.
Briskman said it is “not surprising” that terrorists are targeting American Jews, and Jews worldwide, in addition to Israelis.
New York state assemblyman Dov Hikind called on synagogues to institute security measures, suggesting that an attempt to target Jewish institutions in New York City is inevitable.
Last Friday, two packages sent from Yemen and addressed to Jewish institutions in Chicago were intercepted and found to contain explosives. The bombs were powerful enough to bring down a plane, making it unclear whether they were to be set off after reaching the Chicago synagogues, or in mid-flight. A British expert said the explosive material was strong enough to destroy 50 planes.
“Whether or not the packages were meant to go off in the air, I believe that the suspected Al-Qaeda affiliates in Yemen were clearly intending to send a message to the Jews of Chicago—and the world—that we are a priority target of theirs, and that they know where to find us,” said Michael Kotzin, Executive Vice-President of the Jewish United Fund in Chicago, a group that has previously hosted security conferences in the city.
Jewish institutions have been targeted in terrorist attacks around the world on many occasions in recent years. In 2006 a shooter targeted the Seattle Jewish Federation, murdering one woman and injuring others. During the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks, the Chabad-run Nariman House was targeted and eight Jews were murdered.
Months earlier, Moroccan security forces uncovered a terrorist network that planned to assassinate Jews and political leaders. A 2009 terrorist plot in America included a plan to bomb synagogues.
In the past week, a Jewish graveyard was desecrated in France, unknown attackers attempted to firebomb a synagogue in Mainz, Germany, and vandals damaged a large electric menorah outside the Chabad house in Evanston, Illinois.