By Eileen Wingard
LA JOLLA, California — Because of concerns due to the recent bomb threats at local Jewish institutions, the Anti-Defamation League organized a meeting at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center on Sunday evening, to address these issues.
Tammy Gillies, Director of the San Diego ADL opened the program with a power point presentation, giving statistics about anti-Semitic incidents during the past two years and this year, since January 1.
In the past week, alone, she reported two incidences of student bullying, the harassment of a visibly Jewish man and swastikas at several school campuses.
She spoke about the ADL’s ten-point plan to urge government to do more to counter hate groups within our country, urging for a fully-resourced civil rights federal inter-agency and demanding that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos require anti-bias training in all the schools of our nation.
Gillies urged us all to “speak up loudly and clearly against anti-Semitism,” saying that we must shine a light on such incidents, wherever they may occur.
Gillies then introduced four security and law enforcement professionals who came to speak and answer questions.
Seated in front of microphones along a narrow table were San Diego County Sheriff William Gore, San Diego City Police Chief Shelly Zimmerman, FBI Special Agent in Charge, Eric Birnbaum, and Department of Homeland Security Advisor Kelly Wilson.
They all emphasized the need for citizens to be vigilant and aware, reporting any suspicious incidents to law enforcement.
“Public safety is a shared responsibility,” stated Zimmerman.
They also encouraged us to live our lives as normally as possible.
“The perpetrators want to instill fear and intimidation. When we are intimidated, we allow them to reach their goal, “ commented Gore.
Birnbaum described his job as one to protect the American public and to uphold the constitution. He told about the typical bomb threat call and suggested several responses.
Wilson told about her work with faith-based institutions, helping to develop preparatory and response plans to threats.
The strong cooperation between the law enforcement agencies and their loyal commitment to counter hate crimes and protect our welfare inspired confidence.
The meeting came on the heels of the arrest in St. Louis of Juan Thompson, a one-time news reporter who was dismissed from his job for fabricating stories. Police accused him of making 10 of the approximately 100 bomb threats to Jewish Community Centers around the nation. They said he was responsible for at least one of the threats made against the Lawrence Family JCC in San Diego.
In addition to the bomb threats, the United States has seen the desecration of a handful of Jewish cemeteries across the country. These incidents were denounced by President Donald Trump in his speech last week to a Joint Session of Congress. Vice President Mike Pence went to the St. Louis area to help clean up one of the desecrated cemeteries.
Members of Congress have reacted strongly as well to the outbreak of anti-Semitism, urging full-scale investigations by the federal government to bring the culprits to justice.
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Wingard is a freelance writer based in San Diego. Her report from the scene was supplemented with background supplied by Donald H. Harrison, editor of San Diego Jewish World.